(e) COMMITTEES.—The Committees referred to in this
section are the Committee on Armed Services, the Com-
mittee on Appropriations, the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources, and the Select Committee on Intelligence
of the Senate, and the Committee on Armed Services, the
Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Com-
merce, the Committee on Science, and the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 18. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER COORDINATION.
Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary shall ensure, for the laboratories owned
by the Department carrying out programs under this Act—
(1) consistency of technology transfer policies
and procedures with respect to patenting, licensing,
and commercialization;
(2) the availability to aggrieved private sector
entities on request of binding alternative dispute reso-
lution, nonbinding alternative dispute resolution, me-
diation, negotiation between authorized representa-
tives of the disputing parties, or resolution by the De-
partment’s site contracting officer to resolve disputes
regarding all technology transfer and intellectual
property matters, with costs and damages to be pro-
vided for by the contractor to the extent that any such
resolution attributes fault to the contractor;
(3) annual reports to the Secretary, as part of
the annual performance evaluation, on technology
transfer and intellectual property successes, current
technology transfer and intellectual property disputes
involving the laboratory, and progress toward resolv-
ing those disputes; and
(4) training to ensure that laboratory personnel
responsible for patenting, licensing, and commer-
cialization activities are knowledgeable of the appro-
priate legal, procedural, and ethical issues necessary
to carry out those activities with the highest possible
professional and ethical standards.
SEC. 19. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REGULATIONS RELAT-
ING TO THE SAFEGUARDING AND SECURITY
OF RESTRICTED DATA.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 18 of title I of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2271 et seq.) is amended
by inserting after section 234A the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 234B. CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES FOR VIOLA-
TIONS OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REGULATIONS RE-
GARDING SECURITY OF CLASSIFIED OR SENSITIVE INFOR-
MATION OR DATA.—
‘‘a. Any person who has entered into a contract or
agreement with the Department of Energy, or a subcontract
or subagreement thereto, and who violates (or whose em-
ployee violates) any applicable rule, regulation, or order
prescribed or otherwise issued by the Secretary pursuant
to this Act relating to the safeguarding or security of Re-
stricted Data or other classified or sensitive information
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not to exceed $100,000
for each such violation.
‘‘b. The Secretary shall include in each contract with
a contractor of the Department provisions which provide
an appropriate reduction in the fees or amounts paid to
the contractor under the contract in the event of a violation
by the contractor or contractor employee of any rule, regula-
tion, or order relating to the safeguarding or security of
Restricted Data or other classified or sensitive information.
The provisions shall specify various degrees of violations
and the amount of the reduction attributable to each degree
of violation.
‘‘c. The powers and limitations applicable to the as-
sessment of civil penalties under section 234A, except for
subsection d. of that section, shall apply to the assessment
of civil penalties under this section.’’.
(b) CLARIFYING AMENDMENT.—The section heading of
section 234A of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2282a) is amended by
inserting ‘‘SAFETY’’ before ‘‘REGULATIONS’’.
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for
that Act is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 234 the following new items:
‘‘Sec. 234A. Civil Monetary Penalties for Violations of Department of Energy
Safety Regulations.
‘‘Sec. 234B. Civil Monetary Penalties for Violations of Department of Energy Reg-
ulations Regarding Security of Classified or Sensitive Informa-
tion or Data.’’.
SEC. 20. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.
(a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a pro-
gram to ensure that an employee of the Department, or a
contractor employee, may not be discharged, demoted, or
otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing
to a person or entity referred to in subsection (b) informa-
tion which the employee or contractor employee reasonably
believes to provide direct and specific evidence of a violation
described in subsection (c).
(b) COVERED PERSONS AND ENTITIES.—A person or
entity referred to in this subsection is the following:
(1) A Member of Congress.
(2) An employee of Congress who has an appro-
priate security clearance for access to the information.
(3) The Inspector General of the Department.
(4) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(5) Any other element of the Federal Government
designated by the Secretary as authorized to receive
information of the type disclosed.
(c) COVERED VIOLATIONS.—A violation referred to in
subsection (a) is—
(1) a violation of law or Federal regulation;
(2) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds,
or abuse of authority; or
(3) a false statement to Congress on an issue of
material fact.
SEC. 21. INVESTIGATION AND REMEDIATION OF ALLEGED
REPRISALS FOR DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN IN-
FORMATION TO CONGRESS.
(a) SUBMITTAL OF ALLEGATIONS TO INSPECTOR GEN-
ERAL.—A Department employee or contractor employee
who believes that the employee has been discharged, de-
moted, or otherwise discriminated against as a reprisal for
disclosing information referred to in subsection (a) of sec-
tion 20 in accordance with the provisions of that section
may submit a complaint relating to such action to the In-
spector General of the Department.
(b) INVESTIGATION.—(1) For each complaint sub-
mitted under subsection (a), the Inspector General shall—
(A) determine whether or not the complaint is
frivolous; and
(B) if the Inspector General determines the com-
plaint is not frivolous, conduct an investigation of the
complaint.
(2) The Inspector General shall submit a report on
each investigation undertaken under paragraph (1)(B) to—
(A) the employee who submitted the complaint
on which the investigation is based;
(B) the contractor concerned, if any; and
(C) the Secretary.
(c) REMEDIAL ACTIONS.—(1) If the Secretary deter-
mines that an employee has been subjected to an adverse
personnel action referred to in subsection (a) in contraven-
tion of the provisions of section 20(a), the Secretary shall—
(A) in the case of a Department employee, take
appropriate actions to abate the action; or
(B) in the case of a contractor employee, order
the contractor concerned to take appropriate actions
to abate the action.
(2)(A) If a contractor fails to comply with an order
issued under paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary may file an
action for enforcement of the order in the appropriate
United States district court.
(B) In any action brought under subparagraph (A),
the court may grant appropriate relief, including injunctive
relief and compensatory and exemplary damages.