All Circuit Review Act

Mr. President, I rise to submit to the Senate the budget scorekeeping report for July 2018. The report compares current-law levels of spending and revenues with the amounts the Senate agreed to in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2018, H. Con. Res. 71, and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA18). This information is necessary for the Senate Budget Committee to determine whether budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation. The Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, prepared this report pursuant to section 308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act (CBA).

This is the fifth scorekeeping report this year and the second since I filed new enforceable levels on May 7, pursuant to BBA18 requirements. My last filing can be found in the Congressional Record for June 6, 2018. The information included in this report is current through July 16, 2018.

Republican Budget Committee staff prepared Tables 1-6.

Table 1 gives the amount by which each Senate authorizing committee exceeds or is below its allocation for budget authority and outlays under the most recently adopted budget resolution and the fiscal year 2019 enforceable levels filing. This information is used for enforcing committee allocations pursuant to section 302 of the CBA. For this reporting period, 10 of the 16 authorizing committees are in compliance with their allocations.

During this reporting period, Congress cleared two pieces of legislation with significant budgetary effects scored to authorizing committees. The first bill was H.R. 770, the American Innovation $1 Coin Act. This measure requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint, beginning in 2019, new $1 coins ``in recognition of American innovation and significant innovation and pioneering efforts of individuals or groups from each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories.'' CBO estimates that H.R. 770 would increase direct spending in the near term by $3 million but would be deficit- neutral over the entire budget window. This bill was charged to the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. The second bill was H.R. 5956, the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018. This bill modifies U.S. immigration policy regarding the Northern Mariana Islands, thereby reducing the number of people able to claim asylum and receive means-tested benefits. CBO estimates that this bill would save $3 million over the budget window. H.R. 5956 was charged to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Tables 2-6 remain unchanged from my last filing.

In addition to the tables provided by Budget Committee Republican staff, I am submitting CBO tables, which I will use to enforce budget totals approved by Congress.

Because legislation can still be enacted that would have an effect on fiscal year 2018, CBO has provided a report both for fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019. This information is used to enforce aggregate spending and revenue levels in the budget resolution under section 311 of the CBA. CBO's estimates show that current-law levels of spending for fiscal year 2018 exceed the amounts in H. Con. Res. 71 by $157.4 billion in budget authority and $106.3 billion in outlays. Revenues are $3.2 billion above the revenue floor for fiscal year 2018 set by the budget resolution. Social Security outlays are at the levels assumed by the resolution, while Social Security revenues are $446 million below the levels in the budget.

For fiscal year 2019, CBO estimates that current-law levels are below the fiscal year 2019 enforceable aggregates by $1,142.2 billion in budget authority and $646.1 billion in outlays. The allowable spending room will be reduced as appropriations bills are enacted. Revenues are $5 million below the level assumed for fiscal year 2019. Finally, Social Security outlays and revenues are at the levels assumed in the fiscal year 2019 enforcement filing.

CBO's report also provides information needed to enforce the Senate pay-as-you-go, PAYGO, rule. After accounting for enacted legislation during this reporting period, the PAYGO scorecard shows deficit increases in fiscal year 2019 of $25 million--$5 million revenue loss, $20 million outlay increase--over the fiscal year 2019-2023 period of $332 million--$47 million revenue loss, $285 million outlay increase-- and over the fiscal year 2019-2028 period of $487 million--$108 million revenue loss, $379 million outlay increase. The Senate's PAYGO rule is enforced by section 4106 of H. Con. Res. 71.

Included in this submission is a table tracking the Senate's budget enforcement activity on the floor since the May 7 enforcement filing. On June 18, 2018, Senator Bernard Sanders raised a Senate PAYGO point of order against H.R. 5515, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. That point of order was waived by a vote of 81-14. H.R. 5515 has yet to be enacted and is currently in conference.

All years in the accompanying tables are fiscal years.

I ask unanimous consent that the accompanying tables be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2229) to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide permanent authority for judicial review of certain Merit Systems Protection Board decisions relating to whistleblowers, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I speak in support of H.R. 2229, the All Circuit Review Act, which Ranking Member Cummings of Maryland and Mr. Farenthold of Texas introduced earlier this year. It is critical that we guarantee whistleblowers have access to fair and efficient reviews of their claims of retaliation.

Between 1982 and 2012, whistleblowers could only appeal retaliation rulings made against them by the Merit Systems Protection Board, or the MSPB, to the Federal circuit. That monopoly led to the Federal circuit shaping key interpretations of whistleblower protection law without a check by any of the other circuit courts.

In 2012, to the wide acclaim of the whistleblower community, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act ended the Federal circuit court's monopoly over whistleblower retaliation appeals. The result, as expected, was better case law and more expeditious appeals.

As a pilot program, that expansion was set to expire 3 years after enactment. In 2014, Congress acted to extend the program until November of this year. Now, this highly effective program will expire next month unless it is renewed. The whistleblower community has benefited tremendously from the pilot program. There is no good argument against making this permanent.

Critics had feared that expanding jurisdiction over the MSPB appeals would lead to a torrent of cases for those circuits, swamping dockets across the Nation. Those fears have proved to be unfounded. Instead, the whistleblower community has benefited from other circuits having an opportunity to interpret Federal whistleblower case law.

H.R. 2229 makes the all circuit expansion permanent, ensuring the benefits of the pilot program continue. This bipartisan initiative will put the question of appeal jurisdiction for whistleblower retaliation cases to rest once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, September 22, 2017.

Hon. Trey Gowdy,

Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Gowdy: I write with respect to H.R. 2229, the

``All Circuit Review Act.'' As a result of your having

consulted with us on provisions within H.R. 2229 that fall

within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on the

Judiciary, I forego any further consideration of this bill so

that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor for

consideration.

The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual

understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 2229 at

this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over subject

matter contained in this or similar legislation and that our

committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as

this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may

address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. Our

committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an

appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate

conference involving this or similar legislation, and asks

that you support any such request.

I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 2229 and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Congressional Record during floor

consideration of H.R. 2229.

Sincerely,

Bob Goodlatte,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank Chairman Gowdy for his support of this legislation, and for the hard work of Ranking Member Cummings of Maryland and Mr. Farenthold of Texas for all that they have done to bring this needed bill to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I introduced the All Circuit Review Act, Mr. Speaker, to send a clear message to all Federal employees who blow the whistle on wrongdoing that we here in Congress have their backs.

This bill would give Federal employees who face retaliation for blowing the whistle a more equitable playing field when they challenge that retaliation in court. Under the bill, whistleblowers could file appeals in the jurisdictions where they work or live, rather than having to file appeals in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Whistleblowers who live outside of Washington, D.C., should have the same opportunities as those who live in Washington.

I want to thank Representative Blake Farenthold for cosponsoring this bill with me. Representative Farenthold has been a steadfast supporter of this basic due process right for Federal employees.

The bill we are considering today makes permanent a pilot provision that was included in the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which was signed into law in 2012. That pilot provision will expire in November if we do not send this bill to the President before then.

Without this bill, whistleblowers could appeal a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board only to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Federal circuit has historically been overly restrictive of whistleblower rights.

According to the Merit Systems Protection Board, 29 cases have been appealed to courts other than the Federal circuit since 2012. The Project On Government Oversight sent a letter to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on May 2, 2017, in strong support of this bill. Executive Director Danielle Brian wrote as follows: ``The pilot program has been a success. It has not resulted in a flood of whistleblower appeals as opponents of the program asserted it would do, and it allows for potential circuit splits, which encourage sister circuits to review the laws and allows for possible Supreme Court review. It is working exactly as intended and should be made permanent before it expires in November 2017.''

The bill was approved by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee without opposition in May. Two years ago, Congress approved an extension of the All Circuit Review Extension Act pilot program in 2014 without a single negative vote.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the whistleblower bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the All Circuit Review Act.

This week the House is considering several bills to strengthen protections for whistleblowers. This is a bipartisan bill introduced by Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Cummings and Representative Blake Farenthold.

This bill would help level the playing field for whistleblowers by making permanent a pilot program that allows

Federal whistleblowers to file appeals in courts where they work or live rather than in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Federal circuit has a terrible track record on whistleblower cases. Allowing other courts around the country to hear whistleblower cases will provide a check on the monopoly the Federal circuit has held for many years.

The bill would also authorize the Office of Personnel Management to appeal a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board to any appeals court with jurisdiction.

This bill was listed on the Project On Government Oversight's list of legislative reforms Congress should enact in 2017. Protecting whistleblowers is not a partisan issue. It is a patriotic issue. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will support this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), ranking member of the full Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I wish to submit to the Senate the budget scorekeeping report for November 2018. The report compares current-law levels of spending and revenues with the amounts the Senate agreed to in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2018, H. Con. Res. 71, and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, BBA18. This information is necessary for the Senate Budget Committee to determine whether budgetary points of order lie against pending legislation. The Republican staff of the Budget Committee and the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, prepared this report pursuant to section 308(b) of the Congressional Budget Act,