Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act
Latest action · Nov 17, 2006 House Committee on Armed Services Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Dec. 8, 2006.
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.
- IntroducedMar 15, 2005
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act - (Sec. 2) Includes as a protected disclosure by a federal employee any lawful disclosure an employee or applicant for employment reasonably believes is credible evidence of waste, abuse, gross mismanagement, or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety without restriction as to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure.
(Sec. 3) Defines the term "disclosure" to mean a formal or informal communication, but does not include a communication concerning policy decisions that lawfully exercise discretionary authority unless the employee providing the disclosure reasonably believes that the disclosure evidences: (1) any violation of any law, rule, or regulation; or (2) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.
(Sec. 4) 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.
(Sec. 5) Includes under the definition of "personnel action" the implementation or enforcement of any nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement. Prohibits taking the following actions against whistleblowers making protected disclosures: (1) the implementation or enforcement of any nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement; and (2) an investigation (other than routine nondiscretionary agency investigations) of an employee or applicant.
(Sec. 6) 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.
(Sec. 7) Expands the authority of the Merit Systems Protection Board to impose disciplinary action for prohibited personnel practices.
(Sec. 8) Requires a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on security clearances revocations taking effect after 1996 with respect to personnel that filed claims in connection with such security clearance revocations.
(Sec. 9) Permits an employee, former employee, or applicant to bring an action against the United States at law or equity for de novo review as an alternative recourse in seeking corrective action with respect to a prohibited personnel practice.
(Sec. 10) Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to modify remedy and enforcement authority under provisions relating to the protection of contractor employees from reprisal for disclosure of certain information, including by permitting such an employee who has been subjected to a reprisal prohibited by such provisions to bring an action at law or equity for de novo review in order to seek compensatory damages and other relief available under those provisions. Makes an identical amendment with respect to federal military law relating to the protection of military contractor employees from reprisal for disclosure of certain information.
(Sec. 11) Makes certain prohibited personnel practices provisions applicable to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Cosponsors 22
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 15, 2005 to Dec 5, 2006; 17 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| R-CT | Christopher Shays | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-CA | Fortney Pete Stark | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-CA | Howard L. Berman | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| R-TN | Marsha Blackburn | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-NY | Michael R. McNulty | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| R-IL | Ray LaHood | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| R-CT | Rob Simmons | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| R-TX | Ron Paul | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | Mar 15, 2005 |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Apr 13, 2005 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Apr 21, 2005 | |
| D-VA | Rick Boucher | Feb 8, 2006 | |
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | Sep 14, 2006 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Dec 5, 2006 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Referred Mar 15, 2005Markup Sep 29, 2005Reported Jun 29, 2006 |
| House | Armed Services Committee | Referred Jun 29, 2006 |
| Readiness Subcommittee | Referred Oct 10, 2006 | |
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Jun 29, 2006Discharged Nov 17, 2006 |
| Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Subcommittee | Referred Jul 11, 2006 |
Actions 15
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 17, 2006Committee on Homeland Security discharged.
- Nov 17, 2006House Committee on Armed Services Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Dec. 8, 2006.
- Oct 10, 2006Referred to the Subcommittee on Readiness.
- Sep 29, 2006House Committee on Armed Services Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Nov. 17, 2006.
- Sep 29, 2006House Committee on Homeland Security Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Nov. 17, 2006.
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.
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
- Oct 18, 2005H.R. 1317, Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Government Reform on September 29, 2005</p>
- Oct 18, 2005H.R. 1317, Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Government Reform on September 29, 2005
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 109-161 | WHAT PRICE FREE SPEECH? WHISTLEBLOWERS AND THE CEBALLOS DECISION285 pages | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Jun 29, 2006 |
| Serial No. 109-150 | NATIONAL SECURITY WHISTLEBLOWERS IN THE POST-SEPTEMBER 11TH ERA: LOST IN A LABYRINTH AND FACING SUBTLE RETALIATION446 pages | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Feb 14, 2006 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 494 | Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act | Related bill | May 25, 2005 |
| HR 3097 | Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act | Related bill | Jun 28, 2005 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 5, United States Code, to clarify which disclosures of information are protected from prohibited personnel practices; to require a statement in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements to the effect that such policies, forms, and agreements are consistent with certain disclosure protections; and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Administrative remedies
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Congress
- Congressional investigations
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Counterintelligence
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Defense contracts
- Department of Homeland Security
- Disciplining of employees
- Discrimination in employment
- Dismissal of employees
- Employee rights
- Evidence (Law)
- Federal employees
- Government contractors
- Government Operations and Politics
- Governmental investigations
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Merit Systems Protection Board
- Misconduct in office
- Personnel management
- Security clearances
- Terrorism
- Transportation and Public Works
- Transportation safety
- Whistle blowing
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 15, 2005Introduced in House
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.