S. 1869 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen 

An Act 

To reauthorize and rename the position of Whistleblower Ombudsman to be the 

Whistleblower Protection Coordinator. 

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 

Coordination Act’’. 

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 establishment, Congress, and any other relevant 
S. 1869—2 

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.— 

(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. 
S. 1869—3 

(2) RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

by paragraph (1) shall take effect on November 26, 2017. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.