The Merit Systems Protection Board is

a. federal employees who work for government through a competitive, not political selection.

b. an agency that administers civil service laws, rules, and regulations.

c. a system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on dem¬onstrated performance rather than political patronage

d. a system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.

e. an independent agency that oversees and protects merit in the federal govern¬ment personnel system.