[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 169 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

                  In the Senate of the United States,

                                                        April 23, 2002.
      Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 
169) entitled ``An Act to require that Federal agencies be accountable 
for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws; 
to require that each Federal agency post quarterly on its public Web 
site, certain statistical data relating to Federal sector equal 
employment opportunity complaints filed with such agency; and for other 
purposes.'', do pass with the following

                              AMENDMENTS:

(1)Page 2, line 6, strike out [2001] and insert: 2002

(2)Page 2, in the table of contents, strike out

                     [TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS]

[Sec. 101. Findings.]
[Sec. 102 Definitions.]
[Sec. 103 Effective date.]
and insert:

                      TITLE I--GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Effective date.

(3)Page 2, in the table of contents, strike out

[Sec. 206 Study by the General Accounting Office regarding exhaustion 
                            of administrative remedies.]
and insert:

Sec. 206. Studies by General Accounting Office on exhaustion of 
                            remedies and certain Department of Justice 
                            costs.

(4)Page 2, strike out all after line 9 over to and including line 13 on 
page 4 and insert:

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Federal agencies cannot be run effectively if those 
        agencies practice or tolerate discrimination;
            (2) Congress has heard testimony from individuals, 
        including representatives of the National Association for the 
        Advancement of Colored People and the American Federation of 
        Government Employees, that point to chronic problems of 
        discrimination and retaliation against Federal employees;
            (3) in August 2000, a jury found that the Environmental 
        Protection Agency had discriminated against a senior social 
        scientist, and awarded that scientist $600,000;
            (4) in October 2000, an Occupational Safety and Health 
        Administration investigation found that the Environmental 
        Protection Agency had retaliated against a senior scientist for 
        disagreeing with that agency on a matter of science and for 
        helping Congress to carry out its oversight responsibilities;
            (5) there have been several recent class action suits based 
        on discrimination brought against Federal agencies, including 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, 
        Tobacco, and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the 
        Immigration and Naturalization Service, the United States 
        Marshals Service, the Department of Agriculture, the United 
        States Information Agency, and the Social Security 
        Administration;
            (6) notifying Federal employees of their rights under 
        discrimination and whistleblower laws should increase Federal 
        agency compliance with the law;
            (7) requiring annual reports to Congress on the number and 
        severity of discrimination and whistleblower cases brought 
        against each Federal agency should enable Congress to improve 
        its oversight over compliance by agencies with the law; and
            (8) requiring Federal agencies to pay for any 
        discrimination or whistleblower judgment, award, or settlement 
        should improve agency accountability with respect to 
        discrimination and whistleblower laws.

SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Federal agencies should not retaliate for court 
        judgments or settlements relating to discrimination and 
        whistleblower laws by targeting the claimant or other employees 
        with reductions in compensation, benefits, or workforce to pay 
        for such judgments or settlements;
            (2) the mission of the Federal agency and the employment 
        security of employees who are blameless in a whistleblower 
        incident should not be compromised;
            (3) Federal agencies should not use a reduction in force or 
        furloughs as means of funding a reimbursement under this Act;
            (4)(A) accountability in the enforcement of employee rights 
        is not furthered by terminating--
                    (i) the employment of other employees; or
                    (ii) the benefits to which those employees are 
                entitled through statute or contract; and
            (B) this Act is not intended to authorize those actions;
            (5)(A) nor is accountability furthered if Federal agencies 
        react to the increased accountability under this Act by taking 
        unfounded disciplinary actions against managers or by violating 
        the procedural rights of managers who have been accused of 
        discrimination; and
            (B) Federal agencies should ensure that managers have 
        adequate training in the management of a diverse workforce and 
        in dispute resolution and other essential communication skills; 
        and
            (6)(A) Federal agencies are expected to reimburse the 
        General Fund of the Treasury within a reasonable time under 
        this Act; and
            (B) a Federal agency, particularly if the amount of 
        reimbursement under this Act is large relative to annual 
        appropriations for that agency, may need to extend 
        reimbursement over several years in order to avoid--
                    (i) reductions in force;
                    (ii) furloughs;
                    (iii) other reductions in compensation or benefits 
                for the workforce of the agency; or
                    (iv) an adverse effect on the mission of the 
                agency.

(5)Page 4, line 14, strike out [102.] and insert: 103.

(6)Page 4, line 18, strike out [agency,] and insert: agency;

(7)Page 4, line 21, strike out [303,] and insert: 303;

(8)Page 4, line 25, strike out [Commission,] and insert: Commission;

(9)Page 5, line 2, strike out [agency,] and insert: agency;

(10)Page 5, line 5, strike out [agency,] and insert: agency;

(11)Page 5, line 9, strike out [103.] and insert: 104.

(12)Page 6, line 3, strike out [(c),] and insert: (c);

(13)Page 6, line 19, strike out [of the] and insert: ,

(14)Page 7, line 2, strike out [of the] and insert: ,

(15)Page 7, strike out lines 3 and 4

(16)Page 7, line 14, strike out [law,] and insert: law;

(17)Page 7, line 15, strike out [if to the extent that] and insert:  
if, or to the extent that,

(18)Page 8, line 8, after ``ate,'' insert: the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Government Reform 
of the House of Representatives, each committee of Congress with 
jurisdiction relating to the agency,

(19)Page 8, line 14, strike out [alleged,] and insert: alleged;

(20)Page 8, line 16, strike out [(1),] and insert: (1);

(21)Page 8, line 21, strike out [any,] and insert: any;

(22)Page 8, line 25, strike out [(1),] and insert: (1);

(23)Page 9 , line 3, strike out [, and] and insert: ;

(24)Page 9, strike out lines 4 through 14 and insert:
            (6) a detailed description of--
                    (A) the policy implemented by that agency relating 
                to appropriate disciplinary actions against a Federal 
                employee who--
                            (i) discriminated against any individual in 
                        violation of any of the laws cited under 
                        section 201(a) (1) or (2); or
                            (ii) committed another prohibited personnel 
                        practice that was revealed in the investigation 
                        of a complaint alleging a violation of any of 
                        the laws cited under section 201(a) (1) or (2); 
                        and
                    (B) with respect to each of such laws, the number 
                of employees who are disciplined in accordance with 
                such policy and the specific nature of the disciplinary 
                action taken;
            (7) an analysis of the information described under 
        paragraphs (1) through (6) (in conjunction with data provided 
        to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in compliance 
        with part 1614 of title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations) 
        including--
                    (A) an examination of trends;
                    (B) causal analysis;
                    (C) practical knowledge gained through experience; 
                and
                    (D) any actions planned or taken to improve 
                complaint or civil rights programs of the agency; and
            (8) any adjustment (to the extent the adjustment can be 
        ascertained in the budget of the agency) to comply with the 
        requirements under section 201.

(25)Page 9, strike out lines 18 and 19 and insert:
years (or, if data are not available for all 5 fiscal years, for each 
of those 5 fiscal years for which data are available).

(26)Page 9, line 23, strike out [title,] and insert: title;

(27)Page 9, strike out all after line 23 over to and including line 6 
on page 10 and insert:
            (2) rules to require that a comprehensive study be 
        conducted in the executive branch to determine the best 
        practices relating to the appropriate disciplinary actions 
        against Federal employees who commit the actions described 
        under clauses (i) and (ii) of section 203(a)(6)(A); and

(28)Page 10, line 20, strike out [guidelines,] and insert: guidelines;

(29)Page 10, lines 22 and 23, strike out [guidelines,] and insert: 
guidelines;

(30)Page 11, strike out all after line 9 over to and including line 16 
on page 12 and insert:

SEC. 206. STUDIES BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE ON EXHAUSTION OF 
              ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES AND ON ASCERTAINMENT OF CERTAIN 
              DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COSTS.

    (a) Study on Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies.--
            (1) Study.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the General Accounting 
                Office shall conduct a study relating to the effects of 
                eliminating the requirement that Federal employees 
                aggrieved by violations of any of the laws specified 
                under section 201(c) exhaust administrative remedies 
                before filing complaints with the Equal Employment 
                Opportunity Commission.
                    (B) Contents.--The study shall include a detailed 
                summary of matters investigated, information collected, 
                and conclusions formulated that lead to determinations 
                of how the elimination of such requirement will--
                            (i) expedite handling of allegations of 
                        such violations within Federal agencies and 
                        will streamline the complaint-filing process;
                            (ii) affect the workload of the Commission;
                            (iii) affect established alternative 
                        dispute resolution procedures in such agencies; 
                        and
                            (iv) affect any other matters determined by 
                        the General Accounting Office to be appropriate 
                        for consideration.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 90 days after completion of the 
        study required by paragraph (1), the General Accounting Office 
        shall submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
        the President pro tempore of the Senate, the Equal Employment 
        Opportunity Commission, and the Attorney General a report 
        containing the information required to be included in such 
        study.
    (b) Study on Ascertainment of Certain Costs of the Department of 
Justice in Defending Discrimination and Whistleblower Cases.--
            (1) Study.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the General Accounting Office shall 
        conduct a study of the methods that could be used for, and the 
        extent of any administrative burden that would be imposed on, 
        the Department of Justice to ascertain the personnel and 
        administrative costs incurred in defending in each case arising 
        from a proceeding identified under section 201(a) (1) and (2).
            (2) Report.--Not later than 90 days after completion of the 
        study required by paragraph (1), the General Accounting Office 
        shall submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
        the President pro tempore of the Senate a report containing the 
        information required to be included in the study.

(31)Page 12, after line 16, insert:
    (c) Studies on Statutory Effects on Agency Operations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the General Accounting Office shall 
        conduct--
                    (A) a study on the effects of section 201 on the 
                operations of Federal agencies; and
                    (B) a study on the effects of section 13 of the 
                Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 612) on the 
                operations of Federal agencies.
            (2) Contents.--Each study under paragraph (1) shall 
        include, with respect to the applicable statutes of the study--
                    (A) a summary of the number of cases in which a 
                payment was made in accordance with section 2414, 2517, 
                2672, or 2677 of title 28, United States Code, and 
                under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code;
                    (B) a summary of the length of time Federal 
                agencies used to complete reimbursements of payments 
                described under subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) conclusions that assist in making 
                determinations on how the reimbursements of payments 
                described under subparagraph (A) will affect--
                            (i) the operations of Federal agencies;
                            (ii) funds appropriated on an annual basis;
                            (iii) employee relations and other human 
                        capital matters;
                            (iv) settlements; and
                            (v) any other matter determined by the 
                        General Accounting Office to be appropriate for 
                        consideration.
            (3) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the completion 
        of each study under paragraph (1), the General Accounting 
        Office shall submit a report on each study, respectively, to 
        the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro 
        tempore of the Senate, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of 
        the Senate, the Committee on Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives, and the Attorney General.

(32)Page 12, after line 16, insert:
    (d) Study on Administrative and Personnel Costs Incurred by the 
Department of the Treasury.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the General Accounting Office shall 
        conduct a study on the extent of any administrative and 
        personnel costs incurred by the Department of the Treasury to 
        account for payments made in accordance with section 2414, 
        2517, 2672, or 2677 of title 28, United States Code, and under 
        section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, as a result of--
                    (A) this Act; and
                    (B) the Contracts Dispute Act of 1978 (41 U.S.C. 
                601 note; Public Law 95-563).
            (2) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the completion of 
        the study under paragraph (1), the General Accounting Office 
        shall submit a report on the study to the Speaker of the House 
        of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, 
        the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 
        Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives, 
        and the Attorney General.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
107th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 169

_______________________________________________________________________

                               AMENDMENTS