Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act
Latest action · Oct 8, 2004 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 782.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 8, 2004
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act - Revises the definition of protected employee disclosures (whistleblowing) to include: (1) any lawful disclosure without restriction to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure; and (2) formal or informal communications or transmissions. Excludes from such definition disclosures pertaining to policy decisions that lawfully exercise discretionary authority unless the disclosing employee reasonably believes that there is evidence of a violation of law or government waste, fraud, or abuse. Protects certain disclosures involving classified information to Members of Congress and congressional employees who are authorized to receive classified information. Provides for employee discipline for disclosures to congressional employees who are not authorized to receive such information.
Codifies the legal standard for determining whether a whistleblower has a reasonable belief that a disclosure evidences governmental waste, fraud, or abuse, or a violation of law.
Provides that the following actions may not be taken against whistleblowers for protected disclosures: (1) the implementation or enforcement of any nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement; (2) a security clearance suspension or revocation; and (3) an investigation (other than routine nondiscretionary agency investigations) of an employee or applicant for employment.
Authorizes the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to conduct an expedited review of cases charging retaliation for whistleblowing when the whistleblower's security clearance or access determination is suspended, revoked, or otherwise adversely affected. Requires an agency that improperly revokes a whistleblower's security clearance to report to Congress explaining its actions. Exempts an agency from this requirement if the agency can show by a preponderance of the evidence (currently, clear and convincing evidence required) that it would have taken the same personnel action in the absence of the whistleblower disclosure.
Authorizes the President to exclude certain agencies engaged in the conduct of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities from whistleblower protections if such exclusion is made prior to any personnel action against the whistleblower.
Expands the authority of the MSPB to impose disciplinary action for prohibited personnel practices.
Authorizes the Office of Special Counsel to appear as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in any civil action involving whistleblowers and the Hatch Act.
Allows petitions for review of whistleblower actions to be filed in any Federal Court of Appeals of competent jurisdiction (currently limited to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit), for five years after the date of enactment of this Act.
Requires all Federal agency nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements to contain specified language preserving the right of Federal employees to disclose certain protected information.
Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to extend existing whistleblower rights for independently obtained information that may also qualify as voluntarily submitted critical infrastructure information under such Act.
Requires Federal agencies to instruct employee how to make a lawful disclosure of classified information to the Special Counsel, the Inspector General of an agency, Congress, or other agency employee designated to receive such information.
Cosponsors 14
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 8, 2004 to Jul 16, 2004; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MI | Carl Levin | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| R-IA | Chuck Grassley | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| R-OH | George V. Voinovich | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| I-CT | Joseph I. Lieberman | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| D-MN | Mark Dayton | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| D-AR | Mark L. Pryor | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| R-IL | Peter Fitzgerald | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| R-ME | Susan M. Collins | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| D-SD | Tim Johnson | Original | Jul 8, 2004 |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Jul 14, 2004 | |
| R-MN | Norm Coleman | Jul 16, 2004 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Referred Jul 8, 2004Markup Jul 21, 2004Reported Oct 8, 2004 |
| Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security Subcommittee | Referred Jul 9, 2004 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 8, 2004Committee on Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Collins without amendment. With written report No. 108-392.
- Oct 8, 2004Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 782.
- Jul 21, 2004Committee on Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Jul 9, 2004Committee on Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget, and International Security.
- Jul 8, 2004Introduced in Senate
- Jul 8, 2004Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7839-7840)
- Jul 8, 2004Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S7840-7842)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S7839Text printed S7840–S7842 | Daniel K. Akaka D-HI (text) | Jul 8, 2004 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Sep 3, 2004S. 2628, Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs on July 21, 2004</p>
- Sep 3, 2004S. 2628, Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs on July 21, 2004
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION116 pages | Judiciary Committee | Aug 23, 2004 |
| S. Hrg. 108-590 | NOMINATIONS OF NEIL McPHIE AND BARBARA J. SAPIN112 pages | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Jul 19, 2004 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1358 | Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act | Related bill | May 5, 2004 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices, require a statement in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements that such policies, forms, and agreements conform with certain disclosure protections, provide certain authority for the Special Counsel, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Administrative remedies
- Appellate courts
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Civil actions and liability
- Classified defense information
- Congress
- Congressional investigations
- Congressional oversight
- Congressional witnesses
- Disciplining of employees
- Dismissal of employees
- Due process of law
- Economics and Public Finance
- Employee rights
- Evidence (Law)
- Executive orders
- Federal employees
- Government attorneys
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Governmental investigations
- Information leaking
- Infrastructure
- Infrastructure (Economics)
- Inspectors general
- Judicial review
- Jurisdiction
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Legal fees
- Merit Systems Protection Board
- Office of Special Counsel
- Parties to actions
- Personnel management
- Promotions
- Security clearances
- Security measures
- Waste in government spending
- Whistle blowing
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 8, 2004Reported to Senate
- Jul 8, 2004Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.