OPM predicts considerable savings to the American taxpayer resulting from returning the venue to hear appeals of RIF actions from MSPB to OPM.  In addition to the direct cost savings this proposed rule would generate, OPM expects that the faster adjudication of appeals will result in additional benefits.  Receiving a timely decision on an appeal will provide the individual with a clear determination and provide much-needed certainty, quickly.  Agencies will similarly benefit as the streamlined appeal procedures would reduce the costly and protracted legal process and would help limit backpay and attorney’s fees should an individual be improperly terminated as part of a RIF.  OPM also expects greater consistency with respect to the outcomes of employees’ appeals due to OPM’s unique position as the agency authorized by Congress to promulgate these rules, OPM’s decades-long administration of RIF rules on a governmentwide basis, and OPM’s own experiences as an employing agency that has applied RIF rules numerous times over the decades in its own downsizing actions.