[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14199-14200]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PROTECTION OF DISCLOSURES ACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of 
the Federal Employees Protection of Disclosures Act, a bill to ensure 
that Federal employees can report fraud, waste, and abuse within their 
employer Federal agencies without fear of retaliation. I cosponsored 
this much needed reform in the last Congress and commend the junior 
Senator from Hawaii for reintroducing it today. Congress must encourage 
Federal employees with reasonable beliefs about governmental misconduct 
to report such fraud or abuse, but it must also protect those who blow 
the whistle rather than leave them vulnerable to reprisals.
  Unfortunately, whistleblower protections under current law have been 
weakened by the Federal circuit, the court that now possesses exclusive 
appellate jurisdiction over such claims. The Federal circuit has issued 
a number of rulings that erode whistleblower rights in direct 
contradiction to the plain language of the law and the congressional 
intent of established whistleblower protections. The potential chilling 
effect of these decisions threatens to undermine the fundamental 
purpose underlying whistleblower laws. The Federal Employees Protection 
of Disclosures Act will address this problem by expanding judicial 
review of such cases to all Federal circuit courts of competent 
jurisdiction. Jurisdiction will then include the place where the 
whistleblower lives or where the Government misconduct occurred.
  The bill also updates the current law. For example, it clarifies that 
whistleblower disclosures can come in many forms--such as oral or 
written, or formal or informal disclosures. It also broadens current 
law to reflect that reporting occurs in many different areas, such as 
over policy matters or individual misconduct. The law expands the 
current list of prohibited personnel actions against a whistleblower in 
two ways: One, the opening of an investigation of the employee, and 
two, the revocation of a security clearance. The bill also ensures that 
appropriate disciplinary actions are taken against managers whose 
negative actions toward employees were motivated in any way by the 
employee's whistleblowing. More practical reforms are also included, 
such as making the collecting of attorney's fees available to 
whistleblowers who prevail in court. In addition, under the bill, 
consequential damages may be suffered by the employee if they are the 
result of a prohibited personnel practice.
  Whistleblower information is one tool in helping the Government and 
private sector find ways to prevent future terrorist attacks as well. 
Though certain safeguards remain for intelligence-related or policy-
making functions, the Federal Employees Protection of Disclosures Act 
maintains existing whistleblower rights for independently obtained 
critical infrastructure information without fear of criminal 
prosecution. These protections are needed to encourage individuals to 
submit information to the Government about cyberattacks or other 
threats that might affect the Nation's critical infrastructures.
  Whistleblowers have proven to be important catalysts for much needed 
Government change over the years. From corporate fraud to governmental 
misconduct to media integrity, the importance of whistleblowers in 
galvanizing positive change cannot be questioned. I urge my fellow 
Senators to support this important bill.

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