[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2798 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2798

 To ensure whistleblowers who are Government employees or contractors 
                      receive adequate protection.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 6, 2019

   Mr. Paul introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To ensure whistleblowers who are Government employees or contractors 
                      receive adequate protection.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Whistleblower Protection Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Federal contractor'' means a contractor or 
        subcontractor (at any tier) of the United States Government; 
        and
            (2) the term ``personnel action''--
                    (A) has the meaning given that term in section 2302 
                of title 5, United States Code; and
                    (B) includes other disciplinary or corrective 
                action and performance evaluations by an employer.

SEC. 3. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS FOR CONTRACTORS.

    (a) Prohibited Personnel Practices.--An employee of a Federal 
contractor who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, 
or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such 
authority--
            (1) take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to 
        take, a personnel action with respect to any employee of the 
        Federal contractor or applicant for employment by the Federal 
        contractor because of--
                    (A) any disclosure of information by the employee 
                of the Federal contractor or applicant for employment 
                by the Federal contractor which the employee of the 
                Federal contractor or applicant for employment by the 
                Federal contractor reasonably believes evidences--
                            (i) any violation of any law, rule, or 
                        regulation; or
                            (ii) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of 
                        funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 
                        and specific danger to public health or safety,
                if such disclosure is not specifically prohibited by 
                law and if such information is not specifically 
                required by Executive order to be kept secret in the 
                interest of national defense or the conduct of foreign 
                affairs; or
                    (B) any disclosure to the Special Counsel, or to 
                the Inspector General of an agency or another employee 
                designated by the head of the agency to receive such 
                disclosures, of information which the employee of the 
                Federal contractor or applicant for employment by the 
                Federal contractor reasonably believes evidences--
                            (i) any violation (other than a violation 
                        of this section) of any law, rule, or 
                        regulation; or
                            (ii) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of 
                        funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 
                        and specific danger to public health or safety; 
                        or
            (2) take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to 
        take, any personnel action against any employee of the Federal 
        contractor or applicant for employment by the Federal 
        contractor for employment because of--
                    (A) the exercise of any appeal, complaint, or 
                grievance right granted by any law, rule, or 
                regulation--
                            (i) with regard to remedying a violation of 
                        paragraph (1); or
                            (ii) other than with regard to remedying a 
                        violation of paragraph (1);
                    (B) testifying for or otherwise lawfully assisting 
                any individual in the exercise of any right referred to 
                in subparagraph (A)(i) or (ii);
                    (C) cooperating with or disclosing information to 
                the Inspector General (or any other component 
                responsible for internal investigation or review) of an 
                agency, or the Special Counsel, in accordance with 
                applicable provisions of law; or
                    (D) refusing to obey an order that would require 
                the individual to violate a law, rule, or regulation.
    (b) Agency Action.--A Federal agency may not pressure a Federal 
contractor to take, fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take 
any personnel action relating to an employee of the Federal contractor 
based on a disclosure or action described in paragraph (1) or (2) of 
subsection (a).
    (c) Retroactive Effect.--This section shall apply to a personnel 
action taken or failed to be taken, or threatened to be taken or failed 
to be taken before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. NO TERMINATION OR PROSECUTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS.

    Congress reaffirms that no Federal employee or employee of a 
Federal contractor should be terminated or prosecuted for making 
protected disclosures or any other disclosures as a whistleblower.

SEC. 5. ENSURING SIXTH AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS.

    Congress reaffirms that, in the case of criminal prosecutions and 
impeachments arising from the disclosures of whistleblowers, the 
accused has the right to confront his or her accuser in such 
proceedings and that right is not superseded by the whistleblower 
protections.
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