[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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