Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998

Summary: Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to authorize an employee or contractor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who intends to report to the Congress a complaint or information with respect to an urgent concern to report to the Inspector General (IG) of the CIA.  Requires the IG to act on such complaint or information within 60 days and to forward such complaint to the CIA Director. Requires the Director to forward such information to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate within seven days after its receipt.  Allows an employee to contact the intelligence committees directly concerning such complaint or information in limited circumstances.  Requires IG notification of an employee within three days after taking any action on a complaint or information. 
Defines a matter of "urgent concern" for purposes of this Act as: (1) a serious or flagrant problem, abuse, violation of law or executive order, or deficiency relating to the administration or operation of an intelligence activity involving classified information; (2) a false statement to the Congress, or willful withholding from the Congress, on an issue of material fact relating to the administration or operation of an intelligence activity; or (3) an action constituting reprisal in response to an employee's reporting of an urgent concern. 
Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to authorize employees and contractors of the following agencies who intend to report to the Congress a complaint or information with respect to an urgent concern to report such to the IG of the Department of Defense:  the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Security Agency. Authorizes employees and contractors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who intend to take such action to report to the IG of the Justice Department. Authorizes other Federal employees dealing with foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities who intend to take such action to report to their appropriate IG.  Outlines procedures to follow the reporting of such complaint or information, and a definition of "urgent concern," similar to those provided with respect to CIA employees, above.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Intelligence 
Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998''.
    (b) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) national security is a shared responsibility, requiring 
        joint efforts and mutual respect by Congress and the President;
            (2) the principles of comity between the Branches apply to 
        the handling of national security information;
            (3) Congress, as a co-equal Branch of Government, is 
        empowered by the Constitution to serve as a check on the 
        Executive Branch; in that capacity, it has a ``need to know'' 
        of allegations of wrongdoing within the Executive Branch, 
        including allegations of wrongdoing in the Intelligence 
        Community;
            (4) no basis in law exists for requiring prior 
        authorization of disclosures to the intelligence committees of 
        Congress by employees of the Executive Branch of classified 
        information about wrongdoing within the Intelligence Community;
            (5) the risk of reprisal perceived by employees and 
        contractors of the Intelligence Community for reporting serious 
        or flagrant problems to Congress may have impaired the flow of 
        information needed by the intelligence committees to carry out 
        oversight responsibilities; and
            (6) to encourage such reporting, an additional procedure 
        should be established that provides a means for such employees 
        and contractors to report to Congress while safeguarding the 
        classified information involved in such reporting.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY EMPLOYEES WHO REPORT 
              URGENT CONCERNS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (d) of section 17 of the 
        Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 403q) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(5)(A) An employee of the Agency, or of a contractor to the 
Agency, who intends to report to Congress a complaint or information 
with respect to an urgent concern may report to the Inspector General.
    ``(B) Within the 60-calendar day period beginning on the day of 
receipt from an employee of a complaint or information under 
subparagraph (A), the Inspector General shall determine whether the 
complaint or information appears credible. If the Inspector General 
determines that the complaint or information appears credible, the 
Inspector General within such period shall transmit the complaint or 
information to the Director.
    ``(C) The Director shall, within 7 calendar days after receipt of 
the transmittal from the Inspector General under subparagraph (B), 
forward such transmittal to the intelligence committees together with 
any comments the Director considers appropriate.
    ``(D) If the Inspector General does not transmit, or does not 
transmit in an accurate form, the complaint or information described in 
subparagraph (B), the employee may contact the intelligence committees 
directly to submit the complaint or information, if the employee--
            ``(i) furnishes to the Director, through the Inspector 
        General, a statement of the employee's complaint or information 
        and notice of the employee's intent to contact the intelligence 
        committees directly; and
            ``(ii) obtains and follows direction from the Director, 
        through the Inspector General, on how to contact the 
        intelligence committees in accordance with appropriate security 
        practices.
    ``(E) The Inspector General shall notify the employee of each 
action taken under this paragraph with respect to the employee's 
complaint or information not later than three days after any such 
action is taken.
    ``(F) In this paragraph:
            ``(i) The term `urgent concern' means any of the following:
                    ``(I) A serious or flagrant problem, abuse, 
                violation of law or executive order, or deficiency 
                relating to the administration or operations of an 
                intelligence activity involving classified information, 
                but does not include differences of opinions concerning 
                public policy matters.
                    ``(II) A false statement to Congress, or a willful 
                withholding from Congress, on an issue of material fact 
                relating to the administration or operation of an 
                intelligence activity.
                    ``(III) An action, including a personnel action 
                described in section 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United 
                States Code, constituting reprisal or threat of 
                reprisal prohibited under subsection (e)(3)(B) in 
                response to the employee's reporting an urgent concern 
                pursuant to the terms of this act.
            ``(ii) The term `intelligence committees' means the 
        Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
        Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
        Senate.
    ``(G) An action taken by the Director or the Inspector General 
under this paragraph shall not be subject to judicial review.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The heading to subsection (d) of 
        section 17 of such Act is amended by inserting ``; Reports to 
        Congress on Urgent Concerns'' before the period.
    (b) Additional Provisions With Respect to Inspectors General of the 
Intelligence Community.--
            (1) In general.--The Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
        U.S.C. App.) is amended by redesignating section 8H as section 
        8I and by inserting after section 8G the following new section:
    ``Sec. 8H. (a)(1)(A) Employees of the Defense Intelligence Agency, 
the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the National Reconnaissance 
Office, and the National Security Agency, and of contractors to those 
Agencies, who intend to report to Congress a complaint or information 
with respect to an urgent concern may report to the Inspector General 
of the Department of Defense (or designee).
    ``(B) Employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and of 
contractors to the Bureau, who intend to report to Congress a complaint 
or information with respect to an urgent concern may report to the 
Inspector General of the Department of Justice (or designee).
    ``(C) Any other employee of, or contractor to, an executive agency, 
or element or unit thereof, determined by the President under section 
2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of title 5, United States Code, to have as its 
principal function the conduct of foreign intelligence or 
counterintelligence activities, who intends to report to Congress a 
complaint or information with respect to an urgent concern may report 
to the appropriate Inspector General (or designee) under this Act, or 
section 17 of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949.
    ``(2) The designee of an Inspector General under this section shall 
report such employee complaints or information to the Inspector General 
within 7 calendar days of receipt.
    ``(b) Within the 60-calendar day period beginning on the day of 
receipt of an employee complaint or information under subsection (a), 
the Inspector General shall determine whether the complaint or 
information appears credible. If the Inspector General determines that 
the complaint or information appears to be credible, the Inspector 
General within such period shall transmit the complaint or information 
to the head of the establishment.
    ``(c) The head of the establishment shall, within 7 calendar days 
after receipt of the transmittal from the Inspector General pursuant to 
subsection (b), forward such transmittal to the intelligence 
committees, together with any comments the head of the establishment 
considers appropriate.
    ``(d) If the Inspector General does not transmit, or does not 
transmit in an accurate form, the complaint or information pursuant to 
subsection (b), the employee may contact the intelligence committees 
directly to submit the complaint or information, if the employee--
            ``(1) furnishes to the head of the establishment, through 
        the Inspector General, a statement of the employee's complaint 
        or information and notice of the employee's intent to contact 
        the intelligence committees directly; and
            ``(2) obtains and follows direction from the head of the 
        establishment, through the Inspector General, on how to contact 
        the intelligence committees in accordance with appropriate 
        security practices.
    ``(e) The Inspector General shall notify the employee of each 
action taken under this section with respect to the employee's 
complaint or information not later than three days after any such 
action is taken.
    ``(f) In this paragraph:
            ``(1) The term `urgent concern' means any of the following:
                    ``(A) A serious or flagrant problem, abuse, 
                violation of law or Executive order, or deficiency 
                relating to the administration or operations of an 
                intelligence activity involving classified information, 
                but does not include differences of opinions concerning 
                public policy matters.
                    ``(B) A false statement to Congress, or a willful 
                withholding from Congress, on an issue of material fact 
                relating to the administration or operation of an 
                intelligence activity.
                    ``(C) An action, including a personnel action 
                described in section 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United 
                States Code, constituting reprisal or threat of 
                reprisal prohibited under section 7(c) in response to 
                the employee's reporting an urgent concern pursuant to 
                the terms of this Act.
            ``(2) The term `intelligence committees' means the 
        Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
        Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
        Senate.
    ``(g) An action taken by the head of an establishment or an 
Inspector General under this section shall not be subject to judicial 
review.''.
            (2) Conforming Amendment.--Section 8I of such Act (as 
        redesignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection) is amended by 
        striking ``or 8E'' and inserting ``8E, or 8H''.