I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1265 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to make the disclosure of the identity 

of a whistleblower a criminal offense, to provide a civil right of action 

for the disclosure of the identity of a whistleblower, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 

Mr. SWALWELL (for himself, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. DEMINGS, and Ms. NORTON) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to make the disclosure of the identity of a whistleblower a criminal offense, 

to provide a civil right of action for the disclosure of 

the identity of a whistleblower, 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 ‘‘Enhancing Protections 

5 for Whistleblower Anonymity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR THE DISCLOSURE OF THE 

2 IDENTITY OF A WHISTLEBLOWER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 88 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 1802. Disclosure of whistleblower identity 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except under the circumstances 

8 described in subsection (b), whoever, being an employee 

9 of the Federal Government or contractor of the Federal 

10 Government, knowingly makes a prohibited disclosure 

11 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

12 1 year, or both. 

13 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The circumstances described in 

14 this subsection are the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) The prohibited disclosure— 

16 ‘‘(A) is made to— 

17 ‘‘(i) an employee of the Federal Gov18 ernment; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an employee of a State govern20 ment; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) an employee of a local govern22 ment; and 

23 ‘‘(B) is expressly permitted by any other 

24 law. 

25 ‘‘(2) The whistleblower provides written consent 

26 before the prohibited disclosure is made. 


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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall only apply 

2 to a prohibited disclosure that is made after the date of 

3 enactment of this section. 

4 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERN6 MENT.—The term ‘employee of the Federal Govern7 ment’ means an officer or employee of the United 

8 States Government, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) a member of the uniformed service; 

10 ‘‘(B) a Member of Congress; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the President of the United States. 

12 ‘‘(2) MEMBER OF CONGRESS.—The term ‘Mem13 ber of Congress’ has the meaning given such term 

14 in section 2106 of title 5. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITED DISCLOSURE.—The term 

16 ‘prohibited disclosure’ means a formal or informal 

17 communication or transmission of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the identity of a whistleblower; or 

19 ‘‘(B) identifying information relating to a 

20 whistleblower. 

21 ‘‘(4) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘whistle22 blower’ means each of the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) An employee, former employee, or ap24 plicant for employment (as such terms are used 

25 in section 1213(a) of title 5) who makes a disVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:19 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1265.IH H1265

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1 closure that is described in paragraph (1) or (2) 

2 of such section. 

3 ‘‘(B) An employee of an agency or appli4 cant for employment at an agency (as such 

5 terms are used in section 2302(b)(8)(C) of title 

6 5) who makes a disclosure as described in such 

7 section. 

8 ‘‘(C) A former employee of the Federal 

9 Government who makes a disclosure to Con10 gress of information described in section 

11 2302(b)(8)(C) of title 5. 

12 ‘‘(D) An employee that makes a complaint 

13 or otherwise provides information to the Inspec14 tor General (as the terms ‘employee’ and ‘In15 spector General’ are used in the Inspector Gen16 eral Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)) pursuant to 

17 the requirements of section 7 of such Act. 

18 ‘‘(E) A member of the Armed Forces 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(i) complains of or discloses informa21 tion; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is protected against retaliation 

23 for such actions under section 1034 of title 

24 10. 


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1 ‘‘(F) An employee (as the term ‘employee’ 

2 is used in section 103H of the National Secu3 rity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3033)) who the In4 spector General of the Intelligence Community 

5 may not disclose the identity of pursuant to the 

6 requirements of section 103H(g)(3)(A) of such 

7 Act (50 U.S.C. 3033(g)(3)(A)). 

8 ‘‘(G) An employee (as the term ‘employee’ 

9 is used in section 4712(a)(3)(A) of title 41) 

10 who is deemed to have made a disclosure under 

11 such section. 

12 ‘‘(H) A individual not otherwise covered by 

13 subparagraphs (A) through (G) who— 

14 ‘‘(i) is protected by law to make a dis15 closure of— 

16 ‘‘(I) a violation of law or regula17 tion; or 

18 ‘‘(II) gross mismanagement, 

19 gross waste of funds, abuse of author20 ity, or a substantial and specific dan21 ger to public health or the safety of a 

22 Federal entity; 

23 ‘‘(ii) makes such a disclosure; 

24 ‘‘(iii) is not prohibited by law to make 

25 such a disclosure; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) is not disclosing information 

2 that is determined pursuant to Executive 

3 Order No. 13526 (75 Fed. Reg. 707; relat4 ing to classified national security informa5 tion), or a successor order, or the Atomic 

6 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et 

7 seq.) to require protection against unau8 thorized disclosure.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

10 for chapter 88 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘1802. Disclosure of whistleblower identity.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. CIVIL RIGHT OF ACTION AGAINST DISCLOSURE OF 

13 WHISTLEBLOWER IDENTITY. 

14 (a) PROHIBITED DISCLOSURE.—A whistleblower may 

15 bring a civil action before the appropriate district court— 

16 (1) for appropriate relief, including injunctive 

17 relief, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, 

18 against any employee of the Federal Government or 

19 contractor of the Federal Government who makes a 

20 prohibited disclosure, with respect to such whistle21 blower; or 

22 (2) for injunctive relief against any employee of 

23 the Federal Government or contractor of the Federal 

24 Government who threatens to make a prohibited dis25 closure, with respect to such whistleblower. 


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1 (b) JURY TRIAL.—A party to an action brought 

2 under subsection (a) shall be entitled to trial by jury. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘em4 ployee of the Federal Government’’, ‘‘prohibited disclo5 sure’’, and ‘‘whistleblower’’ have the meanings given such 

6 terms in section 1802(d) of title 18, United States Code, 

7 as added by this Act. 

Æ 


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