I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7935 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to modify and enhance protections 

for Federal Government whistleblowers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 4, 2020 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. CONNOLLY, and 

Ms. SPEIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to modify and enhance 

protections for Federal Government whistleblowers, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Whistleblower Protec5 tion Improvement Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

7 (a) INVESTIGATIONS AS PERSONNEL ACTIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302(a)(2)(A) of 

9 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (A) in clause (xi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (B) by redesignating clause (xii) as clause 

4 (xiii); and 

5 (C) by adding after the clause (xi) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(xii) the opening of any investigation 

8 as a result of a disclosure protected by 

9 subsection (b)(8) (but not including any 

10 investigation that is ministerial or nondis11 cretionary); and’’. 

12 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

13 paragraph (1) shall apply to any investigation 

14 opened (as described under section 

15 2302(a)(2)(A)(xii) of title 5, United States Code, as 

16 added by such paragraph) on or after the date of en17 actment of this Act. 

18 (b) RIGHT TO PETITION CONGRESS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302(b)(9) of title 

20 5, United States Code, is amended— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

22 at the end; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (D), by adding ‘‘or’’ 

24 at the end after the semicolon; and 

25 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(E) the exercise of any right protected 

2 under section 7211;’’. 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

4 paragraph (1) shall apply to the exercise of any 

5 right described in section 2302(b)(9)(E) of title 5, 

6 United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), oc7 curring on or after the date of enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 (c) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE OF WHISTLE10 BLOWER IDENTITY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302 of title 5, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(g)(1) No employee of an agency may willfully com15 municate or transmit to any individual who is not an offi16 cer or employee of the Government the identity of, or per17 sonally identifiable information about, any other employee 

18 who has made, or is suspected to have made, a disclosure 

19 protected by subsection (b)(8), unless— 

20 ‘‘(A) the other employee provides express 

21 written consent prior to the communication or 

22 transmission; 

23 ‘‘(B) the communication or transmission is 

24 made in accordance with the provisions of sec25 tion 552a; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the communication or transmission is 

2 made to a lawyer for the sole purpose of pro3 viding legal advice to an employee accused of 

4 whistleblower retaliation; or 

5 ‘‘(D) the communication or transmission is 

6 required or permitted by any other provision of 

7 law. 

8 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘officer or employee 

9 of the Government’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) the President; 

11 ‘‘(B) a Member of Congress; 

12 ‘‘(C) a member of the uniformed services; 

13 ‘‘(D) an employee as that term is defined in 

14 section 2105, including an employee of the United 

15 States Postal Service, the Postal Regulatory Com16 mission, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (in17 cluding any employee appointed pursuant to chapter 

18 73 or 74 of title 38); and 

19 ‘‘(E) any other officer or employee in any 

20 branch of the Government of the United States.’’. 

21 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

22 paragraph (1) shall apply to any transmission or 

23 communication described in subsection (g) of section 

24 2302 of title 5, United States Code, as added by 


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1 paragraph (1), made on or after the date of enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (d) RIGHT TO PETITION CONGRESS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7211 of title 5, 

5 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘§ 7211. Employees’ right to petition or furnish infor7 mation or respond to Congress 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each officer or employee of the 

9 Federal Government, individually or collectively, has a 

10 right to— 

11 ‘‘(1) petition Congress or a Member of Con12 gress; 

13 ‘‘(2) furnish information, documents, or testi14 mony to either House of Congress, any Member of 

15 Congress, or any committee or subcommittee of the 

16 Congress; or 

17 ‘‘(3) respond to any request for information, 

18 documents, or testimony from either House of Con19 gress or any Committee or subcommittee of Con20 gress. 

21 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—No officer or employee 

22 of the Federal Government may interfere with or deny the 

23 right set forth in subsection (a), including by— 

24 ‘‘(1) prohibiting or preventing, or attempting or 

25 threatening to prohibit or prevent, any other officer 


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1 or employee of the Federal Government from engag2 ing in activity protected in subsection (a); or 

3 ‘‘(2) removing, suspending from duty without 

4 pay, demoting, reducing in rank, seniority, status, 

5 pay, or performance or efficiency rating, denying 

6 promotion to, relocating, reassigning, transferring, 

7 disciplining, or discriminating in regard to any em8 ployment right, entitlement, or benefit, or any term 

9 or condition of employment of, any other officer or 

10 employee of the Federal Government or attempting 

11 or threatening to commit any of the foregoing ac12 tions protected in subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—This section shall not be con14 strued to authorize disclosure of any information that is— 

15 ‘‘(1) specifically prohibited from disclosure by 

16 any other provision of Federal law; or 

17 ‘‘(2) specifically required by Executive order to 

18 be kept secret in the interest of national defense or 

19 the conduct of foreign affairs, unless disclosure is 

20 otherwise authorized by law. 

21 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION OF OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF

22 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—For purposes of this sec23 tion, the term ‘officer or employee of the Federal Govern24 ment’ includes— 

25 ‘‘(1) the President; 


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1 ‘‘(2) a Member of Congress; 

2 ‘‘(3) a member of the uniformed services; 

3 ‘‘(4) an employee (as that term is defined in 

4 section 2105); 

5 ‘‘(5) an employee of the United States Postal 

6 Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission; and 

7 ‘‘(6) an employee appointed under chapter 73 

8 or 74 of title 38.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions for subchapter II of chapter 72 of title 5, 

11 United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

12 related to section 7211 and inserting the following: 

‘‘7211. Employees’ right to petition or furnish information or respond to Congress.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC14 TIONS. 

15 (a) DISCLOSURES RELATING TO OFFICERS OR EM16 PLOYEES OF AN OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Sec17 tion 1213(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(3) If the information transmitted under this 

20 subsection disclosed a violation of law, rule, or regu21 lation, or gross waste, gross mismanagement, abuse 

22 of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to 

23 public health or safety, by any officer or employee 

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1 sel may refer the matter to the Committee of Inspec2 tors General for Integrity and Efficiency, which shall 

3 comply with the standards and procedures applicable 

4 to investigations and reports under subsection (c).’’. 

5 (b) INDIVIDUAL RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

6 (1) NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS; DISCLO7 SURE OF IDENTITY.—Section 1221 of title 5, United 

8 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

9 2302(b)(8) or section 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or 

10 (D),’’ in each instance and inserting ‘‘section 

11 2302(b)(8), section 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), 

12 or (E), section 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g),’’. 

13 (2) STAYS.—Section 1221(c)(2) of title 5, 

14 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(2) Any stay requested under paragraph (1) 

16 shall be granted within 10 calendar days (excluding 

17 Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the 

18 date the request is made, if the Board determines 

19 that such a stay would be appropriate. If the stay 

20 request is denied, the employee, former employee, or 

21 applicant may, within 7 days after receiving notice 

22 of the denial, file an appeal for expedited review by 

23 the Board. The agency shall have 7 days thereafter 

24 to respond. The Board shall provide a decision not 

25 later than 21 days after receiving the appeal. During 


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1 the period of appeal, both parties may supplement 

2 the record with information unavailable to them at 

3 the time the stay was first requested.’’. 

4 (3) ACCESS TO DISTRICT COURT; JURY

5 TRIALS.—Section 1221(i) of title 5, United States 

6 Code, is amended— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘(i) Subsections’’ and in8 serting ‘‘(i)(1) Subsections’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2)(A) If, in the case of an employee, former em11 ployee, or applicant for employment who seeks corrective 

12 action from the Merit Systems Protection Board based on 

13 an alleged prohibited personnel practice described in sec14 tion 2302(b)(8), section 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), 

15 or (E), section 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g), no final 

16 order or decision is issued by the Board within 180 days 

17 after the date on which a request for such corrective action 

18 has been duly submitted to the Board, such employee, 

19 former employee, or applicant may, after providing written 

20 notice to the Special Counsel and the Board and only with21 in 20 days after providing such notice, bring an action 

22 for review de novo before the appropriate United States 

23 district court, and such action shall, at the request of ei24 ther party to such action, be tried before a jury. Upon 

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1 trict court, any proceedings before the Board shall cease 

2 and the employee, former employee, or applicant for em3 ployment waives any right to refile with the Board. 

4 ‘‘(B) If the Board certifies (in writing) to the parties 

5 of a case that the complexity of such case requires a longer 

6 period of review, subparagraph (A) shall be applied by 

7 substituting ‘240 days’ for ‘180 days’. 

8 ‘‘(C) In any such action brought before a United 

9 States district court under subparagraph (A), the court— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall apply the standards set forth in sub11 section (e); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) may award any relief which the court con13 siders appropriate, including any relief described in 

14 subsection (g).’’. 

15 (c) RECIPIENTS OF WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLO16 SURES.—Section 2302(b)(8)(B) of title 5, United States 

17 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or to the Inspector General 

18 of an agency or another employee designated by the head 

19 of the agency to receive such disclosures’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘the Inspector General of an agency, a supervisor in the 

21 employee’s direct chain of command up to and including 

22 the head of the employing agency, or to an employee des23 ignated by any of the aforementioned individuals for the 

24 purpose of receiving such disclosures’’. 


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1 (d) ATTORNEY FEES.—Section 7703(a) of title 5, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(3) If an employee, former employee, or appli5 cant for employment is the prevailing party under 

6 an appeal under this section, the employee, former 

7 employee, or applicant for employment shall be enti8 tled to attorney fees for all representation carried 

9 out pursuant to this section. In such an action for 

10 attorney fees, the agency responsible for taking the 

11 personnel action shall be the respondent and shall be 

12 responsible for paying the fees.’’. 

13 (e) EXTENDING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT

14 TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.—Section 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 

15 5, United States Code, is amended in the matter following 

16 clause (xiii)— 

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(9)(A)(i), (B), 

18 (C), (D), or (E), subsection (b)(13), or subsection 

19 (g),’’ after ‘‘subsection (b)(8),’’; and 

20 (2) by inserting after ‘‘title 31’’ the following: 

21 ‘‘, a commissioned officer or applicant for employ22 ment in the Public Health Service, and a noncareer 

23 appointee in the Senior Executive Service’’. 

24 (f) RELIEF.—Section 7701(b)(2)(A) of title 5, 

25 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘upon the 


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1 making of the decision’’ and inserting ‘‘upon making of 

2 the decision, necessary to make the employee whole as if 

3 there had been no prohibited personnel practice, including 

4 training, seniority and promotions consistent with the em5 ployee’s prior record,’’. 

6 SEC. 4. CLASSIFYING CERTAIN FURLOUGHS AS ADVERSE 

7 PERSONNEL ACTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7512 of title 5, United 

9 States Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; and 

12 (2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(5) a furlough of more than 14 days but less 

15 than 30 days; and 

16 ‘‘(6) a furlough of 13 days or less that is not 

17 due to a lapse in appropriations;’’. 

18 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub19 section (a) shall apply to any furlough covered by such 

20 section 7512(5) or (6) (as amended by such subsection) 

21 occurring on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. CODIFICATION OF PROTECTIONS FOR DISCLO2 SURES OF CENSORSHIP RELATED TO RE3 SEARCH, ANALYSIS, OR TECHNICAL INFOR4 MATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, as amended by section 2(c)(1), is further 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(h)(1) In this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘applicant’ means an applicant 

10 for a covered position; 

11 ‘‘(B) the term ‘censorship related to research, 

12 analysis, or technical information’ means any effort 

13 to distort, misrepresent, or suppress research, anal14 ysis, or technical information; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the term ‘employee’ means an employee in 

16 a covered position in an agency. 

17 ‘‘(2)(A) Any disclosure of information by an employee 

18 or applicant for employment that the employee or appli19 cant reasonably believes is evidence of censorship related 

20 to research, analysis, or technical information— 

21 ‘‘(i) shall come within the protections of sub22 section (b)(8)(A) if— 

23 ‘‘(I) the employee or applicant reasonably 

24 believes that the censorship related to research, 

25 analysis, or technical information is or will 

26 cause— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) any violation of law, rule, or 

2 regulation; or 

3 ‘‘(bb) gross mismanagement, a gross 

4 waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or 

5 a substantial and specific danger to public 

6 health or safety; and 

7 ‘‘(II) such disclosure is not specifically pro8 hibited by law or such information is not spe9 cifically required by Executive order to be kept 

10 classified in the interest of national defense or 

11 the conduct of foreign affairs; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) shall come within the protections of sub13 section (b)(8)(B) if— 

14 ‘‘(I) the employee or applicant reasonably 

15 believes that the censorship related to research, 

16 analysis, or technical information is or will 

17 cause— 

18 ‘‘(aa) any violation of law, rule, or 

19 regulation; or 

20 ‘‘(bb) gross mismanagement, a gross 

21 waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or 

22 a substantial and specific danger to public 

23 health or safety; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the disclosure is made to the Special 

25 Counsel, or to the Inspector General of an 


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1 agency or another person designated by the 

2 head of the agency to receive such disclosures, 

3 consistent with the protection of sources and 

4 methods. 

5 ‘‘(3) A disclosure shall not be excluded from para6 graph (2) for any reason described under subsection (f)(1) 

7 or (2). 

8 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

9 imply any limitation on the protections of employees and 

10 applicants afforded by any other provision of law, includ11 ing protections with respect to any disclosure of informa12 tion believed to be evidence of censorship related to re13 search, analysis, or technical information.’’. 

14 (b) REPEAL.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 110 of the Whistle16 blower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (Public 

17 Law 112–199) is hereby repealed. 

18 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

19 section shall be construed to limit or otherwise affect 

20 any action under such section 110 commenced be21 fore the date of enactment of this Act or any protec22 tions afforded by such section with respect to such 

23 action. 

24 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

25 Title 5, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 1212(h), by striking ‘‘or (9)’’ in 

2 each instance and inserting ‘‘, (b)(9), (b)(13), or 

3 (g)’’; 

4 (2) in section 1214(a)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘section 2302(b)(8) or sec6 tion 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D)’’ in each 

7 instance and inserting ‘‘section 2302(b)(8), sec8 tion 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), or (E), 

9 section 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘section 

11 2302(b)(8) or subparagraph (A)(i), (B), (C), or 

12 (D) of section 2302(b)(9)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec13 tion 2302(b)(8), subparagraph (A)(i), (B), (C), 

14 (D), or (E) of section 2302(b)(9), section 

15 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’; 

16 (3) in section 1215, by striking ‘‘section 

17 2302(b)(8), or 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D)’’ in 

18 each instance and inserting ‘‘section 2302(b)(8), sec19 tion 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), or (E), section 

20 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’; 

21 (4) in section 2302— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or 

24 (g)’’ after ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (2)(C)(i), by striking 

2 ‘‘subsection (b)(8) or section 

3 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D)’’ and in4 serting ‘‘section 2302(b)(8), section 

5 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), or (E), 

6 section 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’; 

7 and 

8 (B) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by striking 

9 ‘‘paragraph (8) or subparagraph (A)(i), (B), 

10 (C), or (D) of paragraph (9) of subsection (b)’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8), subparagraph 

12 (A)(i), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (9), or 

13 paragraph (13) of subsection (b) or subsection 

14 (g)’’; 

15 (5) in section 7515(a)(2), by striking ‘‘para16 graph (8), (9), or (14) of section 2302(b)’’ and in17 serting ‘‘paragraph (8), (9), (13), or (14) of section 

18 2302(b) or section 2302(g)’’; 

19 (6) in section 7701(c)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘or 

20 section 2302(g)’’ after ‘‘section 2302(b)’’; and 

21 (7) in section 7703(b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘sec22 tion 2302(b)(8), or 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or 

23 (D)’’ in each instance and inserting ‘‘section 


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1 2302(b)(8), section 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), 

2 or (E), section 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’. 

Æ 


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