117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2988 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Whistleblower Protec3 tion Improvement Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 

5 (a) INVESTIGATIONS AS PERSONNEL ACTIONS.— 

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

7 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

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

9 end; 

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

11 (xiv); and 

12 (C) by inserting after the clause (xi) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(xii) for purposes of subsection (b)(8)— 

15 ‘‘(I) the commencement, expansion, or 

16 extension of an investigation, but not in17 cluding any investigation that is ministerial 

18 or nondiscretionary (including a ministerial 

19 or nondiscretionary investigation described 

20 in section 1213) or any investigation that 

21 is conducted by an Inspector General of an 

22 entity of the Government of an employee 

23 not employed by the office of that Inspec24 tor General; and 

25 ‘‘(II) a referral to an Inspector Gen26 eral of an entity of the Government, except 
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1 for a referral that is ministerial or nondis2 cretionary;’’. 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

4 paragraph (1) shall apply to any investigation 

5 opened, or referral made, as described under clause 

6 (xii) of section 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United 

7 States Code, as added by such paragraph, on or 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—Section 

10 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, as 

11 amended by paragraph (1), is further amended by 

12 inserting after clause (xii) the following: 

13 ‘‘(xiii) a suspension, revocation, de14 nial, or other determination relating to a 

15 security clearance or any other access de16 termination made by an agency; and’’. 

17 (b) RIGHT TO PETITION CONGRESS.— 

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

19 5, United States Code, is amended— 

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

21 at the end; 

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

23 after the semicolon at the end; and 

24 (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 because that other employee has made, or is suspected to 

19 have made, a disclosure protected by subsection (b)(8), 

20 unless— 

21 ‘‘(A) the other employee provides express writ22 ten consent prior to the communication or trans23 mission of their identity or personally identifiable in24 formation; 
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1 ‘‘(B) the communication or transmission is 

2 made in accordance with the provisions of section 

3 552a; 

4 ‘‘(C) the communication or transmission is 

5 made to a lawyer for the sole purpose of providing 

6 legal advice to an employee accused of whistleblower 

7 retaliation; or 

8 ‘‘(D) the communication or transmission is re9 quired or permitted by any other provision of law. 

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

11 of the Government’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) the President; 

13 ‘‘(B) a Member of Congress; 

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

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

16 section 2105, including an employee of the United 

17 States Postal Service, the Postal Regulatory Com18 mission, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (in19 cluding any employee appointed pursuant to chapter 

20 73 or 74 of title 38); and 

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

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

23 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

24 paragraph (1) shall apply to any transmission or 

25 communication described in subsection (g) of section 
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1 2302 of title 5, United States Code, as added by 

2 paragraph (1), made on or after the date of enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 (d) RIGHT TO PETITION CONGRESS.— 

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

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

7 ‘‘§ 7211. Employees’ right to petition or furnish infor8 mation or respond to Congress 

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

10 Federal Government, individually or collectively, has a 

11 right to— 

12 ‘‘(1) petition Congress or a Member of Con13 gress; 

14 ‘‘(2) furnish information, documents, or testi15 mony to either House of Congress, any Member of 

16 Congress, or any committee or subcommittee of the 

17 Congress; or 

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

19 documents, or testimony from either House of Con20 gress or any Committee or subcommittee of Con21 gress. 

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

23 of the Federal Government may interfere with or deny the 

24 right set forth in subsection (a), including by— 
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1 ‘‘(1) prohibiting or preventing, or attempting or 

2 threatening to prohibit or prevent, any other officer 

3 or employee of the Federal Government from engag4 ing in activity protected in subsection (a); or 

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

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

7 pay, or performance or efficiency rating, denying 

8 promotion to, relocating, reassigning, transferring, 

9 disciplining, or discriminating in regard to any em10 ployment right, entitlement, or benefit, or any term 

11 or condition of employment of, any other officer or 

12 employee of the Federal Government or attempting 

13 or threatening to commit any of the foregoing ac14 tions protected in subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—This section shall not be con16 strued to authorize disclosure of any information that is— 

17 ‘‘(1) specifically prohibited from disclosure by 

18 any other provision of Federal law; or 

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

20 be kept secret in the interest of national defense or 

21 the conduct of foreign affairs, unless disclosure is 

22 otherwise authorized by law. 

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

24 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—For purposes of this sec-
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1 tion, the term ‘officer or employee of the Federal Govern2 ment’ includes— 

3 ‘‘(1) the President; 

4 ‘‘(2) a Member of Congress; 

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

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

7 section 2105); 

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

9 Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission; and 

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

11 or 74 of title 38.’’. 

12 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec13 tions for subchapter II of chapter 72 of title 5, 

14 United States Code, is amended by striking the item 

15 related to section 7211 and inserting the following: 

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

16 SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC17 TIONS. 

18 (a) DISCLOSURES RELATING TO OFFICERS OR EM19 PLOYEES OF AN OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Sec20 tion 1213(c) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) If the information transmitted under this sub23 section disclosed a violation of law, rule, or regulation, or 

24 gross waste, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority, or 
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1 a substantial and specific danger to public health or safe2 ty, by any officer or employee of an Office of Inspector 

3 General, the Special Counsel may refer the matter to the 

4 Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Effi5 ciency, which shall comply with the standards and proce6 dures applicable to investigations and reports under sub7 section (c).’’. 

8 (b) RETALIATORY REFERRALS TO INSPECTORS GEN9 ERAL.—Section 1214(d) of title 5, United States Code, 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) In any case in which the Special Counsel deter12 mines that a referral to an Inspector General of an entity 

13 of the Federal Government was in retaliation for a disclo14 sure or protected activity described in section 2302(b)(8) 

15 or in retaliation for exercising a right described in section 

16 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), the Special Counsel shall transmit that 

17 finding in writing to the Inspector General within seven 

18 days of making the finding. The Inspector General shall 

19 consider that finding and make a determination on wheth20 er to initiate an investigation or continue an investigation 

21 based on the referral that the Special Counsel found to 

22 be retaliatory.’’. 

23 (c) ENSURING TIMELY RELIEF.— 

24 (1) INDIVIDUAL RIGHT OF ACTION.—Section 

25 1221 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
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1 striking ‘‘section 2302(b)(8) or section 

2 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D),’’ each place it ap3 pears and inserting ‘‘section 2302(b)(8), section 

4 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), or (E), section 

5 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g),’’. 

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

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

8 ‘‘(2) Any stay requested under paragraph (1) shall 

9 be granted within 10 calendar days (excluding Saturdays, 

10 Sundays, and legal holidays) after the date the request 

11 is made, if the Board determines— 

12 ‘‘(A) that there is a substantial likelihood that 

13 protected activity was a contributing factor to the 

14 personnel action involved; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the Board otherwise determines that such 

16 a stay would be appropriate.’’. 

17 (3) APPEAL OF STAY.—Section 1221(c) of title 

18 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) If any stay requested under paragraph (1) 

21 is denied, the employee, former employee, or appli22 cant may, within 7 days after receiving notice of the 

23 denial, file an appeal for expedited review by the 

24 Board. The agency shall have 7 days thereafter to 

25 respond. The Board shall provide a decision not 
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1 later than 21 days after receiving the appeal. During 

2 the period of appeal, both parties may supplement 

3 the record with information unavailable to them at 

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

5 (4) ACCESS TO DISTRICT COURT; JURY

6 TRIALS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1221(i) of title 

8 5, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘(i) Subsections’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘(i)(1) Subsections’’; and 

11 (ii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2)(A) If, in the case of an employee, former em14 ployee, or applicant for employment who seeks corrective 

15 action from the Merit Systems Protection Board based on 

16 an alleged prohibited personnel practice described in sec17 tion 2302(b)(8), section 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), 

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

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

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

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

22 former employee, or applicant may, after providing written 

23 notice to the Special Counsel and the Board and only with24 in 20 days after providing such notice, bring an action 

25 for review de novo before the appropriate United States 
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1 district court, and such action shall, at the request of ei2 ther party to such action, be tried before a jury. Upon 

3 filing of an action with the appropriate United States dis4 trict court, any proceedings before the Board shall cease 

5 and the employee, former employee, or applicant for em6 ployment waives any right to refile with the Board. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

13 ‘‘(i) shall apply the standards set forth in sub14 section (e); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) may award any relief which the court con16 siders appropriate, including any relief described in 

17 subsection (g).’’. 

18 (B) APPLICATION.— 

19 (i) The amendments made by sub20 paragraph (A) shall apply to any corrective 

21 action duly submitted to the Merit Systems 

22 Protection Board, during the five-year pe23 riod preceding the date of enactment of 

24 this Act, by an employee, former employee, 

25 or applicant for employment based on an 
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1 alleged prohibited personnel practice de2 scribed in section 2302(b)(8), 

3 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D), or 

4 2302(b)(13) of title 5, United States Code, 

5 with respect to which no final order or de6 cision has been issued by the Board. 

7 (ii) In the case of an individual de8 scribed in clause (i) whose duly submitted 

9 claim to the Board was made not later 

10 than 180 days before the date of enact11 ment of this Act, such individual may only 

12 bring an action before a United States dis13 trict court as described in section 

14 1221(i)(2) of title 5, United States Code, 

15 (as added by subparagraph (A) if that in16 dividual— 

17 (I) provides written notice to the 

18 Office of Special Counsel and the 

19 Merit Systems Protection Board not 

20 later than 90 days after the date of 

21 enactment of this Act; and 

22 (II) brings such action not later 

23 than 20 days after providing such no24 tice. 
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1 (C) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 4 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Comptroller General shall— 

4 (i) conduct a study on actions brought 

5 before Federal court pursuant to para6 graph (2) of section 1221(i) of title 5, 

7 United States Code (as added by subpara8 graph (A) of this paragraph) that, at the 

9 minimum, examines the timeliness of Merit 

10 Systems Protection Board whistleblower 

11 complaint rulings, the rates of individuals 

12 opting for a district court trial under such 

13 paragraph, and recommendations for the 

14 Board to make improvements to its whis15 tleblower claim review process; and 

16 (ii) submit a report on such study to 

17 Congress and publish such report on the 

18 Government Accountability Office’s public 

19 website. 

20 (d) RECIPIENTS OF WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLO21 SURES.—Section 2302(b)(8)(B) of title 5, United States 

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

23 of an agency or another employee designated by the head 

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

25 ‘‘the Inspector General of an agency, a supervisor in the 
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1 employee’s direct chain of command up to and including 

2 the head of the employing agency, or to an employee des3 ignated by any of the aforementioned individuals for the 

4 purpose of receiving such disclosures’’. 

5 (e) ATTORNEY FEES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7703(a) of title 5, 

7 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following: 

9 ‘‘(3) If an employee, former employee, or appli10 cant for employment is the prevailing party under a 

11 proceeding brought under this section, the employee, 

12 former employee, or applicant for employment shall 

13 be entitled to attorney fees for all representation 

14 carried out pursuant to this section. In such an ac15 tion for attorney fees, the agency responsible for 

16 taking the personnel action shall be the respondent 

17 and shall be responsible for paying the fees.’’. 

18 (2) APPLICATION.—In addition to any pro19 ceeding brought by an employee, former employee, 

20 or applicant for employment on or after the date of 

21 enactment of this Act to a Federal court under sec22 tion 7703 of title 5, United States Code, the amend23 ment made by paragraph (1) shall apply to any pro24 ceeding brought by an employee, former employee, 

25 or applicant for employment under such section be-
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1 fore the date of enactment of this Act with respect 

2 to which the applicable Federal court has not issued 

3 a final decision. 

4 (f) EXTENDING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION ACT

5 TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.— 

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

7 title 5, United States Code, is amended in the mat8 ter following clause (xiv)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(9)(A)(i), 

10 (B), (C), (D), or (E), subsection (b)(13), or 

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

12 (B) by inserting after ‘‘title 31’’ the fol13 lowing: ‘‘, a commissioned officer or applicant 

14 for employment in the Public Health Service, 

15 and an officer or applicant for employment in 

16 the commissioned officer corps of the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.’’. 

18 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 261 

19 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis20 tration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 (33 

21 U.S.C. 3071) is amended— 

22 (A) in subsection (a)— 

23 (i) by striking paragraph (8); and 
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1 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (9) 

2 through (26) as paragraphs (8) through 

3 (25), respectively; and 

4 (B) in subsection (b), by striking the sec5 ond sentence. 

6 (3) APPLICATION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an offi8 cer or applicant for employment in the commis9 sioned officer corps of the National Oceanic and 

10 Atmospheric Administration, the amendments 

11 made by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply to 

12 any personnel action taken against such officer 

13 or applicant on or after the date of enactment 

14 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad15 ministration Commissioned Officer Corps 

16 Amendments Act of 2020 (Public Law 116– 

17 259) for making any disclosure protected under 

18 section 2302(8) of title 5, United States Code. 

19 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

20 not apply to any personnel action with respect 

21 to which a complaint has been filed pursuant to 

22 section 1034 of title 10, United States Code, 

23 and a final decision has been rendered regard24 ing such complaint. 

25 (g) RELIEF.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7701(b)(2)(A) of 

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking 

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

4 ‘‘upon making of the decision, necessary to make the 

5 employee whole as if there had been no prohibited 

6 personnel practice, including training, seniority and 

7 promotions consistent with the employee’s prior 

8 record’’. 

9 (2) APPLICATION.—In addition to any appeal 

10 made on or after the date of enactment of this Act 

11 to the Merit Systems Protection Board under section 

12 7701 of title 5, United States Code, the amendment 

13 made by paragraph (1) shall apply to any appeal 

14 made under such section before the date of enact15 ment of this Act with respect to which the Board 

16 has not issued a final decision. 

17 (h) IG SEMIANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 5(a)(20) of 

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

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the semi23 colon at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(C) the number of instances in which the 

2 Office did not make a determination regarding 

3 whether there were reasonable grounds to be4 lieve that a prohibited personnel practice had 

5 occurred, existed, or was to be taken within 240 

6 days after receiving a whistleblower retaliation 

7 complaint;’’. 

8 SEC. 4. CLASSIFYING CERTAIN FURLOUGHS AS ADVERSE 

9 PERSONNEL ACTIONS. 

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

11 States Code, is amended— 

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

13 end; and 

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

15 following: 

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

17 than 30 days; and 

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

19 due to a lapse in appropriations;’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub21 section (a) shall apply to any furlough covered by such 

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

23 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. 
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1 SEC. 6. TITLE 5 TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND2 MENTS. 

3 Title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

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

5 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, (b)(9), 

6 (b)(13), or (g)’’; 

7 (2) in section 1214— 

8 (A) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking 

9 ‘‘section 2302(b)(8) or section 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), 

10 (B), (C), or (D)’’ each place it appears and in11 serting ‘‘section 2302(b)(8), section 

12 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), or (E), section 

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

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

15 2302(b)(8) or subparagraph (A)(i), (B), (C), or 

16 (D) of section 2302(b)(9)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec17 tion 2302(b)(8), subparagraph (A)(i), (B), (C), 

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

19 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’; 

20 (3) in section 1215(a)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘sec21 tion 2302(b)(8), or 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or 

22 (D)’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘section 

23 2302(b)(8), section 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), 

24 or (E), section 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’; 

25 (4) in section 2302— 

26 (A) in subsection (a)— 
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1 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or 

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

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

4 ‘‘subsection (b)(8) or section 

5 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or (D)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘section 2302(b)(8), section 

7 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), or (E), 

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

9 and 

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

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

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

13 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8), subparagraph 

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

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

16 (g)’’; 

17 (5) in section 7515(a)(2), by striking ‘‘para18 graph (8), (9), or (14) of section 2302(b)’’ and in19 serting ‘‘paragraph (8), (9), (13), or (14) of section 

20 2302(b) or section 2302(g)’’; 

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

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

23 (7) in section 7703(b)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘sec24 tion 2302(b)(8), or 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), or 

25 (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2302(b)(8), section 
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1 2302(b)(9)(A)(i), (B), (C), (D), or (E), section 

2 2302(b)(13), or section 2302(g)’’. 

3 SEC. 7. INSPECTOR GENERAL WHISTLEBLOWER INFORMA4 TION COLLECTION SYSTEMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of 

7 each Federal agency and each designated Federal entity 

8 (as those terms are defined in sections 12(5) and 8G, re9 spectively, of the Inspector General Act of 1978) shall es10 tablish and thereafter maintain a mechanism for the in11 spector general to receive anonymous whistleblower infor12 mation (including fraud, waste, and abuse). 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) ANONYMITY.—Any whistleblower mecha15 nism established under subsection (a) by an inspec16 tor general shall maintain total anonymity for any 

17 individual who submits information through such 

18 mechanism. 

19 (2) ACCEPTABLE SYSTEMS.—In order to main20 tain anonymity, any such mechanism may not in21 clude the use of any computer or telephone systems 

22 in collecting such information, but may include the 

23 use of the United States mail, physical receptacles 

24 for receiving information, or any other system that 

25 can assure anonymity. 
26 

•HR 2988 EH

1 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

2 section shall be construed to limit or otherwise pro3 hibit an inspector general from using computer or 

4 telephone systems when carrying out any other pro5 gram, project, or activity not authorized by this sec6 tion. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 15, 

2022. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2988 

AN ACT 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to modify 

whistleblowers, and for other purposes. and enhance protections for Federal Government