A bill to amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices, require a statement in non-disclosure policies, forms, and agreements that such policies, forms and agreements conform with certain disclosure protections, provide certain authority for the Special Counsel, and for other purposes.

Summary: Amends civil service provisions to prohibit taking or failing to take any personnel action with respect to an employee or applicant because of: (1) any disclosure by the employee or applicant, without restriction as to the time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure, including a disclosure made in the ordinary course of an employee's duties that such employee or applicant reasonably believes is credible evidence of any violation of law, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority, or a danger to public health or safety; (2) a disclosure made to the Special Counsel, the Inspector General of an agency, or another employee designated by that agency to receive such disclosures, without such restriction or disclosure; or (3) a disclosure that is made by the employee or applicant of information required by law or executive order to be kept secret that the employee or applicant reasonably believes is credible evidence of any such violation, or a false statement to Congress on an issue of material fact that is made to a member of the congressional committee having primary oversight of the agency to which the disclosed information relates, to any other Member of Congress authorized to receive information of the type disclosed, or to a Federal or congressional employee who has the appropriate security clearance for access to the information disclosed. Prohibits the implementation or enforcement of nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements that do not state that such policies do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter Federal employee obligations, rights, or liabilities.Permits representation by attorneys for the Office of the Special Counsel in civil actions brought in connection with such disclosures of information or provisions relating to political activities. Allows the Special Counsel to obtain judicial review of any final order or decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board with respect to a case concerning such a disclosure or provision.

SECTION 1. PROTECTION OF CERTAIN DISCLOSURES OF INFORMATION BY FEDERAL 
              EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Clarification of Disclosures Covered.--Section 2302(b)(8) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) by striking ``which the employee or applicant 
                reasonably believes evidences'' and inserting ``, 
                without restriction to time, place, form, motive, 
                context, or prior disclosure made to any person by an 
                employee or applicant, including a disclosure made in 
                the ordinary course of an employee's duties that the 
                employee or applicant reasonably believes is credible 
                evidence of''; and
                    (B) in clause (i), by striking ``a violation'' and 
                inserting ``any violation'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) by striking ``which the employee or applicant 
                reasonably believes evidences'' and inserting ``, 
                without restriction to time, place, form, motive, 
                context, or prior disclosure made to any person by an 
                employee or applicant, including a disclosure made in 
                the ordinary course of an employee's duties to the 
                Special Counsel, or to the Inspector General of an 
                agency or another employee designated by the head of 
                the agency to receive such disclosures, of information 
                that the employee or applicant reasonably believes is 
                credible evidence of''; and
                    (B) in clause (i), by striking ``a violation'' and 
                inserting ``any violation''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) a disclosure that--
                            ``(i) is made by an employee or applicant 
                        of information required by law or Executive 
                        order to be kept secret in the interest of 
                        national defense or the conduct of foreign 
                        affairs that the employee or applicant 
                        reasonably believes is credible evidence of--
                                    ``(I) any violation of any law, 
                                rule, or regulation;
                                    ``(II) gross mismanagement, a gross 
                                waste of funds, an abuse of authority, 
                                or a substantial and specific danger to 
                                public health or safety; or
                                    ``(III) a false statement to 
                                Congress on an issue of material fact; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) is made to--
                                    ``(I) a member of a committee of 
                                Congress having a primary 
                                responsibility for oversight of a 
                                department, agency, or element of the 
                                Federal Government to which the 
                                disclosed information relates;
                                    ``(II) any other Member of Congress 
                                who is authorized to receive 
                                information of the type disclosed; or
                                    ``(III) an employee of the 
                                executive branch or Congress who has 
                                the appropriate security clearance for 
                                access to the information disclosed.''.
    (b) Covered Disclosures.--Section 2302(b) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in the matter following paragraph (12), by striking 
        ``This subsection'' and inserting the following:
    ``This subsection''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``In this subsection, the term `disclosure' means a formal or 
informal communication or transmission.''.
    (c) Nondisclosure Policies, Forms, and Agreements.--
            (1) Personnel action.--Section 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5, 
        United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in clause (x), by striking ``and'' after the 
                semicolon; and
                    (B) by redesignating clause (xi) as clause (xii) 
                and inserting after clause (x) the following:
                    ``(xi) the implementation or enforcement of any 
                nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement; and''.
            (2) Prohibited personnel practice.--Section 2302(b) of 
        title 5, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (11), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (12), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (12) the 
                following:
            ``(13) implement or enforce any nondisclosure policy, form, 
        or agreement, if such policy, form, or agreement does not 
        contain the following statement:
                    ```These provisions are consistent with and do not 
                supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the 
                employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by 
                Executive Order No. 12958; section 7211 of title 5, 
                United States Code (governing disclosures to Congress); 
                section 1034 of title 10, United States Code (governing 
                disclosure to Congress by members of the military); 
                section 2302(b)(8) of title 5, United States Code 
                (governing disclosures of illegality, waste, fraud, 
                abuse, or public health or safety threats); the 
                Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (50 
                U.S.C. 421 et seq.) (governing disclosures that could 
                expose confidential Government agents); and the 
                statutes which protect against disclosures that could 
                compromise national security, including sections 641, 
                793, 794, 798, and 952 of title 18, United States Code, 
                and section 4(b) of the Subversive Activities Control 
                Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 783(b)). The definitions, 
                requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and 
                liabilities created by such Executive order and such 
                statutory provisions are incorporated into this 
                agreement and are controlling.'''.
    (d) Authority of Special Counsel Relating to Civil Actions.--
            (1) Representation of special counsel.--Section 1212 of 
        title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(h) Except as provided in section 518 of title 28, relating to 
litigation before the Supreme Court, attorneys designated by the 
Special Counsel may appear for the Special Counsel and represent the 
Special Counsel in any civil action brought in connection with section 
2302(b)(8) or subchapter III of chapter 73, or as otherwise authorized 
by law.''.
            (2) Judicial review of merit systems protection board 
        decisions.--Section 7703 of title 5, United States Code, is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) The Special Counsel may obtain review of any final order or 
decision of the Board by filing a petition for judicial review in the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit if the Special 
Counsel determines, in the discretion of the Special Counsel, that the 
Board erred in deciding a case arising under section 2302(b)(8) or 
subchapter III of chapter 73 and that the Board's decision will have a 
substantial impact on the enforcement of section 2302(b)(8) or 
subchapter III of chapter 73. If the Special Counsel was not a party or 
did not intervene in a matter before the Board, the Special Counsel may 
not petition for review of a Board decision under this section unless 
the Special Counsel first petitions the Board for reconsideration of 
its decision, and such petition is denied. In addition to the named 
respondent, the Board and all other parties to the proceedings before 
the Board shall have the right to appear in the proceedings before the 
Court of Appeals. The granting of the petition for judicial review 
shall be at the discretion of the Court of Appeals.''.
    (e) Judicial Review.--Section 7703 of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence of subsection (b)(1) by inserting 
        before the period ``or the United States court of appeals for 
        the circuit in which the petitioner resides''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the first sentence by striking ``the United 
                States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit'' and 
                inserting ``any appellate court of competent 
                jurisdiction as provided under subsection (b)(2)''; and
                    (B) in the third and fourth sentences by striking 
                ``Court of Appeals'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``court of appeals'' in each such place.