Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009
Latest action · May 14, 2009 Committee Hearings Held.
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 12, 2009
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends federal personnel law relating to whistleblower protections to expand the concept of protected disclosure to include lawful disclosures without restriction to time, place, form, motive, context, forum, or prior disclosure, including a disclosure made in the ordinary course of an employee's duties. Defines evidentiary standards applicable to whistleblower disclosures. Includes as a prohibited personnel practice against whistleblowers the implementation or enforcement of any nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement, a suspension or revocation of a security clearance, and an investigation of a whistleblower.
Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of security clearance revocations of federal employees at a select sample of executive branch agencies and report to Congress on such study.
Provides for expedited review of Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) decisions interpreting whistleblower protections in U.S. district court. Grants authority to MSPB to determine whether whistleblower security clearances were properly suspended or revoked.
Expands whistleblower protection to employees or former employees of a national security agency. Prohibits reprisals against such employees, including revocations of their security clearances, for making disclosures.
Extends whistleblower protections to contractors, employees of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and individuals who disclose censorship related to federal research or technical information.
Cosponsors 17
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 12, 2009 to Jul 30, 2010; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IA | Bruce L. Braley | Original | Mar 12, 2009 |
| D-NY | Edolphus Towns | Original | Mar 12, 2009 |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Original | Mar 12, 2009 |
| R-PA | Todd Russell Platts | Original | Mar 12, 2009 |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Apr 21, 2009 | |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | May 18, 2009 | |
| D-MD | C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger | Jun 16, 2009 | |
| R-TX | Ron Paul | Jun 23, 2009 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | Sep 8, 2009 | |
| D-MA | Barney Frank | Sep 17, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Gary L. Ackerman | Nov 2, 2009 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Feb 4, 2010 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Feb 23, 2010 | |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Mar 16, 2010 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Jul 28, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Jul 28, 2010 | |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | Jul 30, 2010 |
Committees 2
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 12, 2009Hearings May 14, 2009 |
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Mar 12, 2009 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 14, 2009Committee Hearings Held.
- Mar 12, 2009Introduced in House
- Mar 12, 2009Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Mar 12, 2009Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform
- Mar 12, 2009Referred to House Homeland Security
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H3619 | Bruce L. Braley D-IA | Mar 18, 2009 |
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.
Printed hearings 4
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. 111-58 | THE DEEPWATER HORIZON INCIDENT: ARE THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE REGULATIONS DOING THE JOB?126 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Jun 17, 2010 |
| S. Hrg. 111-299 | S. 372243 pages | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Jun 11, 2009 |
| Serial No. 111-9 | H.R. 1507, THE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2009302 pages | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | May 14, 2009 |
| Serial No. 111-12 | RESTORING THE FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT WORKFORCE106 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Mar 19, 2009 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 372 | Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2010 | Related bill | Dec 22, 2010 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, relating to disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Administrative remedies
- Congressional oversight
- Department of Homeland Security
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Evidence and witnesses
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Judicial review and appeals
- Merit Systems Protection Board
- Public contracts and procurement
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 12, 2009Introduced 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.
