[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 6, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1417-H1418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION EXTENSION ACT OF 2017

  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4043) to amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to reauthorize 
the whistleblower protection program, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4043

       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 
     Extension Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 3(d) of the Inspector General Act 
     of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(C)--
       (A) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) 
     and (II), respectively, and adjusting the margins 
     accordingly;
       (B) by striking ``Ombudsman who shall educate agency 
     employees--'' and inserting the following: ``Coordinator who 
     shall--
       ``(i) educate agency employees--'';
       (C) in subclause (I), as so redesignated, by striking ``on 
     retaliation'' and inserting ``against retaliation'';
       (D) in subclause (II), as so redesignated, by striking the 
     period at the end and inserting the following: ``, 
     including--

       ``(aa) the means by which employees may seek review of any 
     allegation of reprisal, including the roles of the Office of 
     the Inspector General, the Office of Special Counsel, the 
     Merit Systems Protection Board, and any other relevant 
     entities; and
       ``(bb) general information about the timeliness of such 
     cases, the availability of any alternative dispute 
     mechanisms, and avenues for potential relief.;''; and

       (E) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(ii) assist the Inspector General in promoting the timely 
     and appropriate handling and consideration of protected 
     disclosures and allegations of reprisal, to the extent 
     practicable, by the Inspector General; and
       ``(iii) assist the Inspector General in facilitating 
     communication and coordination with the Special Counsel, the 
     Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and 
     Efficiency, the agency, Congress, and any other relevant 
     entity regarding the timely and appropriate handling and 
     consideration of protected disclosures, allegations of 
     reprisal, and general matters regarding the implementation 
     and administration of whistleblower protection laws, rules, 
     and regulations.'';
       (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Ombudsman'' and 
     inserting ``Coordinator'';
       (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
       (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) The Whistleblower Protection Coordinator shall have 
     direct access to the Inspector General as needed to 
     accomplish the requirements of this subsection.''.
       (b) Responsibilities of CIGIE.--Section 11(c) of the 
     Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Additional responsibilities relating to whistleblower 
     protection.--The Council shall--
       ``(A) facilitate the work of the Whistleblower Protection 
     Coordinators designated under section 3(d)(C); and
       ``(B) in consultation with the Office of Special Counsel 
     and Whistleblower Protection Coordinators from the member 
     offices of the Inspector General, develop best practices for 
     coordination and communication in promoting the timely and 
     appropriate handling and consideration of protected 
     disclosures, allegations of reprisal, and general matters 
     regarding the implementation and administration of 
     whistleblower protection laws, in accordance with Federal 
     law.''.
       (c) Reporting.--Section 5 of the Inspector General Act of 
     1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (20) to read 
     as follows:
       ``(20)(A) a detailed description of any instance of 
     whistleblower retaliation, including information about the 
     official found to have engaged in retaliation; and
       ``(B) what, if any, consequences the establishment actually 
     imposed to hold the official described in subparagraph (A) 
     accountable;''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
       ``(4) whether the establishment entered into a settlement 
     agreement with the official described in subsection 
     (a)(20)(A), which shall be reported regardless of any 
     confidentiality agreement relating to the settlement 
     agreement; and''.
       (d) Repeal of Sunset.--

[[Page H1418]]

       (1) In general.--Subsection (c) of section 117 of the 
     Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (Public Law 
     112-199; 126 Stat. 1475) is repealed.
       (2) Retroactive effective date.--The amendment made by 
     paragraph (1) shall take effect on November 26, 2017.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Blum) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BLUM. 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 material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Iowa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4043, the Whistleblower 
Protection Extension Act, a bill I introduced with Ranking Member 
Elijah Cummings.
  The Whistleblower Protection Extension Act reauthorizes the 
whistleblower ombudsman program.
  Whistleblowers are the front line of defense against waste, fraud, 
and abuse in the Federal Government, but too many Federal employees are 
unaware of the laws that protect them and the options available for 
dealing with retaliation and other actions intended to silence them.
  To address this problem, Congress created the ombudsman program in 
2012. The program directs agency inspectors general to designate an 
ombudsman for whistleblower protections at the agency. They provide 
information to employees on whistleblower protections and remedies in 
the event of retaliation.
  This program was originally a component of the 2012 Whistleblower 
Protection Enhancement Act and was set to expire after 5 years. Over 
the past 5 years, the ombudsman program has received high marks from 
the inspector general community. This benefits the country as a whole 
and makes the Federal Government more efficient. For that reason, it is 
imperative that we pass H.R. 4043 and make the ombudsman program 
permanent.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the need for this bill comes into recent focus just 
today with reports, maybe unconfirmed, that one of the Trump Cabinet 
members is engaged in a witch hunt against a whistleblower. We need 
this kind of protection.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4043, the Whistleblower 
Protection Extension Act.
  Representative Blum and Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
Ranking Member Elijah Cummings introduced this bill to extend the pilot 
program that requires every inspector general's office to have a 
liaison dedicated to assisting whistleblowers.
  Under this legislation, the whistleblower protection coordinator 
would help educate agency employees about whistleblower protection 
laws. This bill would help employees who want to blow the whistle know 
their rights, and it would put agency management on notice that it is 
against the law to retaliate against whistleblowers.
  This bill would require whistleblower protection coordinators to 
provide whistleblowers who have suffered retaliation information about 
options available to them to have their allegations evaluated.

                              {time}  1545

  No matter how strong we make our whistleblower protection laws, they 
will not help if whistleblowers do not know how to exercise their 
rights under those laws.
  I urge my colleagues to pass this bipartisan measure to strengthen 
whistleblower protections. I urge passage of this commonsense bill, 
this good government bill coming out of our committee. I thank my 
friend from Iowa for collaborating with the gentleman from Maryland 
(Mr. Cummings) on this commonsense piece of legislation, and I urge its 
adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Blum) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 4043, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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