[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 176 (Wednesday, December 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H7312-H7313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ENHANCEMENT
ACT OF 2016
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 5790) to provide adequate protections for whistleblowers at
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5790
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 ``Federal Bureau of
Investigation Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of
2016''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES IN THE FEDERAL BUREAU
OF INVESTIGATION.
Section 2303(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by striking ``any employee of the Bureau'' and all that
follows through ``health or safety'' and inserting the
following: ``an employee in, or applicant for, a position in
the Bureau as a reprisal for a disclosure of information--
[[Page H7313]]
``(1) made--
``(A) in the case of an employee, to a supervisor in the
direct chain of command of the employee, up to and including
the head of the employing agency;
``(B) to the Inspector General;
``(C) to the Office of Professional Responsibility of the
Department of Justice;
``(D) to the Office of Professional Responsibility of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation;
``(E) to the Inspection Division of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
``(F) as described in section 7211;
``(G) to the Office of Special Counsel; or
``(H) to an employee designated by any officer, employee,
office, or division described in subparagraphs (A) through
(G) for the purpose of receiving such disclosures; and
``(2) which the employee or applicant reasonably believes
evidences--
``(A) any violation of any law, rule, or regulation; or
``(B) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse
of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public
health or safety''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Utah?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5790, the FBI
Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2016, as amended.
We have great respect and admiration for the FBI. They do wonderful
work. In fact, I was always proud of my grandfather. He was a career
FBI agent serving here in the Greater Washington, D.C., area and then
up in Pennsylvania for a long period of time. It is because I respect
the FBI and its agents that I helped introduce this bill.
The whistleblower protections in the FBI have really not kept up with
the rest of government. That is why we need a change here. The
whistleblowers at the FBI should be treated the same as they are within
the rest of the Federal Government, and this simple bill goes to help
correct that.
H.R. 5790 would clarify Congress' longstanding intent to protect
whistleblowers when they make disclosures to the same supervisors who
have the power to take personnel actions against them. While a great
many changes remain to be made in how the Department of Justice and the
FBI respond to whistleblowers, this clarification is not a minor one.
If implemented, it would have far-reaching implications in protecting
whistleblowers at the FBI just as Congress intended in 1978 in the
Whistleblower Protection Act.
The FBI Director, Mr. Comey, testified a year ago in the Senate that
he ``very much'' supports legal protections for FBI employees who
follow FBI's own policies and report wrongdoing to their supervisors.
Similarly, the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, testified: ``We
certainly support protecting those who report within their chain of
command.''
I want to thank, in particular, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and
specifically Chairman Chuck Grassley for his leadership in first
introducing this version of the bill. We are also grateful for the
support of my colleagues, including Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who
joined me as the lead Democrat on this bill in this House.
I also want to particularly thank Elijah Cummings, the ranking member
of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a great friend and
colleague and somebody who also has been very supportive of the passage
of this bill. I thank him for his work and commitment on this issue.
Mr. Cummings, personally and through his dedicated staff, continually
has worked hand in hand on whistleblower protections, and this is no
exception. Together, we have sent the message throughout the Federal
Government that protecting whistleblowers is not a partisan issue, and
passing this bill will not mark the end of the road for reforming
whistleblower protections at the FBI. In fact, in the next Congress, I
look forward to addressing other issues raised by the whistleblower
community in the GAO as well as the Department of Justice.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5790, as amended. This bill
will provide FBI employees with protection for blowing the whistle to a
supervisor and make it a prohibited personnel practice to retaliate
against a whistleblower for making such a disclosure.
This bill will also ensure that FBI employees are protected when they
blow the whistle to certain other individuals, including the Inspector
General of the Department of Justice and the Office of Special Counsel.
These small improvements to protect FBI whistleblowers are why I
support this measure before us.
The version of this bill that was reported by the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee would have done much more to protect the
whistleblowers at the FBI than the measure before us today. The
introduced version of this bill would have strengthened the
whistleblower protections for FBI employees by more closely aligning
them with those of the rest of the Federal workforce.
For example, it would have strengthened the appeals process for
whistleblowers by requiring appellate review by the Attorney General
and giving employees access to the courts. It would have defined
prohibited personnel practices to be consistent with those of other
Federal employees, and it would have prohibited the use of
nondisclosure agreements unless the employee was fully aware of his or
her rights before signing such an agreement.
We should work to enact these additional improvements in the next
Congress. All employees deserve strong whistleblower protections,
including the employees of the FBI.
Mr. Speaker, I want to say to my ranking member, Mr. Cummings, and to
our chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, thank you
for the hearings and the dedicated work to ensure that our FBI agents
are protected in any case of whistleblowing.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank, again, Mrs. Lawrence. I
want to thank the ranking member, Mr. Cummings.
This is a good, bipartisan issue. It is really a nonpartisan issue.
It is to protect Federal employees within the FBI so that they can have
the whistleblower protections that, really, most of the rest of the
government has, and I urge its adoption.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 5790, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________