{ "id": "R44997", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R44997", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview", "retrieved": "2022-08-31T04:03:21.796644", "id": "R44997_14_2022-08-01", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2022-08-01_R44997_e836c87abd6ddf0701053582d38887fc560a4199.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44997/14", "sha1": "e836c87abd6ddf0701053582d38887fc560a4199" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2022-08-01_R44997_e836c87abd6ddf0701053582d38887fc560a4199.html" } ], "date": "2022-08-01", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R44997", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview", "retrieved": "2022-08-31T04:03:21.795034", "id": "R44997_11_2021-05-28", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2021-05-28_R44997_ea4fabd8fd67685c52efdf6c71fca3941b1f64b4.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44997/11", "sha1": "ea4fabd8fd67685c52efdf6c71fca3941b1f64b4" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-05-28_R44997_ea4fabd8fd67685c52efdf6c71fca3941b1f64b4.html" } ], "date": "2021-05-28", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R44997", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview", "retrieved": "2022-08-31T04:03:21.794378", "id": "R44997_5_2020-05-28", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2020-05-28_R44997_99d3ab12b53e15aef19967132f70df1758eb2f48.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44997/5", "sha1": "99d3ab12b53e15aef19967132f70df1758eb2f48" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2020-05-28_R44997_99d3ab12b53e15aef19967132f70df1758eb2f48.html" } ], "date": "2020-05-28", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R44997", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584935, "date": "2018-07-20", "retrieved": "2018-09-12T22:35:50.258269", "title": "The Vacancies Act: A Legal Overview", "summary": "The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (Vacancies Act) generally provides the exclusive means by which a government employee may temporarily perform the nondelegable functions and duties of a vacant advice and consent position in an executive agency. Unless an acting officer is serving in compliance with the Vacancies Act, any attempt to perform the functions and duties of that office will have no force or effect.\nThe Vacancies Act limits a government employee\u2019s ability to serve as an acting officer in two primary ways. First, the Vacancies Act provides that only three classes of people may serve temporarily in an advice and consent position. As a default rule, the first assistant to a position automatically becomes the acting officer. Alternatively, the President may direct either a senior official of that agency or a person serving in any other advice and consent position to serve as the acting officer. Second, the Vacancies Act limits the length of time a person may serve as acting officer: a person may serve either (1) for a limited time period running from the date that the vacancy occurred or (2) during the pendency of a nomination to that office. The Vacancies Act is primarily enforced when a person who has been injured by an agency\u2019s action challenges the action based on the theory that it was taken in contravention of the Act.\nThere are, however, a few key limitations on the scope of the Vacancies Act. Notably, the Vacancies Act governs the ability of a person to perform only those functions and duties of an office that are nondelegable. Unless a statute or regulation expressly specifies that a duty must be performed by the absent officer, that duty may be delegated to another government employee. In other words, delegable job responsibilities are outside the purview of the Vacancies Act. In addition, if another statute expressly authorizes acting service, that other statute may render the Vacancies Act nonexclusive, or possibly even inapplicable.\nThis report first describes how the Vacancies Act operates and outlines its scope, identifying when the Vacancies Act applies to a given office, how it is enforced, and which offices are exempt from its provisions. The report then explains who may serve as an acting officer and for how long, focusing on the limitations the Vacancies Act places on acting service. 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Unless an acting officer is serving in compliance with the requirements of the Vacancies Act, any attempt to perform the functions and duties of that office will have no force or effect.\nThe Vacancies Act limits a government employee\u2019s ability to serve as an acting officer in two primary ways. First, the Vacancies Act provides that only three classes of people may serve temporarily in an advice and consent position. As a default rule, the first assistant to a position automatically becomes the acting officer. Alternatively, the President may direct either a senior official of that agency or a person serving in any other advice and consent position to serve as the acting officer. Second, the Vacancies Act limits the length of time a person may serve as acting officer: a person may serve either (1) for a limited time period running from the date that the vacancy occurred or (2) during the pendency of a nomination to that office. The Vacancies Act is primarily enforced when a person who has been injured by an agency\u2019s action challenges the action based on the theory that it was taken in contravention of the Act.\nThere are, however, a few key limitations on the scope of the Vacancies Act. Notably, the Vacancies Act governs the ability of a person to perform only those functions and duties of an office that are nondelegable. Unless a statute or regulation expressly specifies that a duty must be performed by the absent officer, that duty may be delegated to another government employee. In other words, delegable job responsibilities are outside the purview of the Vacancies Act. In addition, if another statute expressly authorizes acting service, that other statute may supersede the Vacancies Act.\nThis report first describes how the Vacancies Act operates and outlines its scope, identifying when the Vacancies Act applies to a given office, how it is enforced, and which offices are exempt from its provisions. The report then explains who may serve as an acting officer and for how long, focusing on the limitations the Vacancies Act places on acting service. 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