II 

Calendar No. 286 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1869 

[Report No. 115–196] 

To reauthorize and rename the position of Whistleblower Ombudsman to 

be the Whistleblower Protection Coordinator. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, 

and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 14, 2017 

Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and rename the position of Whistleblower 

Ombudsman to be the Whistleblower Protection Coordinator. 

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 Coordination Act’’. 


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•S 1869 RS

1 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(d) of the Inspector Gen3 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1)(C)— 

5 (A) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

6 subclauses (I) and (II), respectively, and adjust7 ing the margins accordingly; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘Ombudsman who shall 

9 educate agency employees—’’ and inserting the 

10 following: ‘‘Coordinator who shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) educate agency employees—’’; 

12 (C) in subclause (I), as so redesignated, by 

13 striking ‘‘on retaliation’’ and inserting ‘‘against 

14 retaliation’’; 

15 (D) in subclause (II), as so redesignated, 

16 by striking the period at the end and inserting 

17 the following: ‘‘, including— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the means by which em19 ployees may seek review of any allega20 tion of reprisal, including the roles of 

21 the Office of the Inspector General, 

22 the Office of Special Counsel, the 

23 Merit Systems Protection Board, and 

24 any other relevant entities; and 

25 ‘‘(bb) general information about 

26 the timeliness of such cases, the availVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:51 Dec 14, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1869.RS S1869

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•S 1869 RS

1 ability of any alternative dispute 

2 mechanisms, and avenues for poten3 tial relief.’’; and 

4 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(ii) assist the Inspector General in pro6 moting the timely and appropriate handling and 

7 consideration of protected disclosures and alle8 gations of reprisal, to the extent practicable, by 

9 the Inspector General; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) assist the Inspector General in facili11 tating communication and coordination with the 

12 Special Counsel, the Council of the Inspectors 

13 General on Integrity and Efficiency, the agency 

14 establishment, Congress, and any other relevant 

15 entity regarding the timely and appropriate 

16 handling and consideration of protected disclo17 sures, allegations of reprisal, and general mat18 ters regarding the implementation and adminis19 tration of whistleblower protection laws, rules, 

20 and regulations.’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Ombuds22 man’’ and inserting ‘‘Coordinator’’; 

23 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para24 graph (4); and 


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•S 1869 RS

1 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(3) The Whistleblower Protection Coordinator 

4 shall have direct access to the Inspector General as 

5 needed to accomplish the requirements of this sub6 section.’’. 

7 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CIGIE.—Section 11(c) of 

8 the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES RELATING

11 TO WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—The Council 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) facilitate the work of the Whistle14 blower Protection Coordinators designated 

15 under section 3(d)(C); and 

16 ‘‘(B) in consultation with the Office of 

17 Special Counsel and Whistleblower Protection 

18 Coordinators from the member offices of the In19 spector General, develop best practices for co20 ordination and communication in promoting the 

21 timely and appropriate handling and consider22 ation of protected disclosures, allegations of re23 prisal, and general matters regarding the imple24 mentation and administration of whistleblower 


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•S 1869 RS

1 protection laws, in accordance with Federal 

2 law.’’. 

3 (c) REPORTING.—Section 5 of the Inspector General 

4 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph 

6 (20) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(20)(A) a detailed description of any instance 

8 of whistleblower retaliation, including information 

9 about the official found to have engaged in retalia10 tion; and 

11 ‘‘(B) what, if any, consequences the establish12 ment actually imposed to hold the official described 

13 in subparagraph (A) accountable;’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

18 paragraph (5); and 

19 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(4) whether the establishment entered into a 

22 settlement agreement with the official described in 

23 subsection (a)(20)(A), which shall be reported re24 gardless of any confidentiality agreement relating to 

25 the settlement agreement; and’’. 


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1 (d) REPEAL OF SUNSET.—Subsection (c) of section 

2 117 of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 

3 2012 (Public Law 112–199; 126 Stat. 1475) is repealed. 


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daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 286 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1869 

[Report No. 115–196] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and rename the position of Whistletection Coordinator. blower Ombudsman to be the Whistleblower ProDECEMBER 14, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS