ignated by the head of the agency to receive 
such disclosures, of information which the em-
ployee reasonably believes evidences— 
‘‘(i) a violation of any law, rule, or 
regulation, and occurs during the conscien-
tious carrying out of official duties; or 
‘‘(ii) gross mismanagement, a gross 
waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or 
a substantial and specific danger to public 
health or safety; 
‘‘(C) any communication that complies 
with— 
‘‘(i) subsection (a)(1), (d), or (h) of 
section 8H of the Inspector General Act of 
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.); 
‘‘(ii) subsection (d)(5) (A), (D), or 
(G) of section 17 of the Central Intel-
ligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 
403q); or 
‘‘(iii) subsection (k)(5) (A), (D), or 
(G), of section 103H of the National Secu-
rity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403–3h); 
‘‘(D) the exercise of any appeal, complaint, 
or grievance right granted by any law, rule, or 
regulation; 
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‘‘(E) testifying for or otherwise lawfully as-
sisting any individual in the exercise of any 
right referred to in subparagraph (D); or 
‘‘(F) cooperating with or disclosing infor-
mation to the Inspector General of an agency, 
in accordance with applicable provisions of law 
in connection with an audit, inspection, or in-
vestigation conducted by the Inspector General, 
if the actions described under subparagraphs (D) 
through (F) do not result in the employee or appli-
cant unlawfully disclosing information specifically re-
quired by Executive order to be kept classified in the 
interest of national defense or the conduct of foreign 
affairs. 
‘‘(2) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Consistent 
with the protection of sources and methods, nothing 
in paragraph (1) shall be construed to authorize the 
withholding of information from the Congress or the 
taking of any personnel action against an employee 
who discloses information to the Congress. 
‘‘(3) DISCLOSURES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A disclosure shall not 
be excluded from paragraph (1) because— 
‘‘(i) the disclosure was made to a per-
son, including a supervisor, who partici-
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pated in an activity that the employee rea-
sonably believed to be covered by para-
graph (1)(A)(ii); 
‘‘(ii) the disclosure revealed informa-
tion that had been previously disclosed; 
‘‘(iii) of the employee’s motive for 
making the disclosure; 
‘‘(iv) the disclosure was not made in 
writing; 
‘‘(v) the disclosure was made while 
the employee was off duty; or 
‘‘(vi) of the amount of time which has 
passed since the occurrence of the events 
described in the disclosure. 
‘‘(B) REPRISALS.—If a disclosure is made 
during the normal course of duties of an em-
ployee, the disclosure shall not be excluded from 
paragraph (1) if any employee who has author-
ity to take, direct others to take, recommend, or 
approve any personnel action with respect to 
the employee making the disclosure, took, failed 
to take, or threatened to take or fail to take a 
personnel action with respect to that employee 
in reprisal for the disclosure. 
‘‘(4) AGENCY ADJUDICATION.— 
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‘‘(A) REMEDIAL
PROCEDURE.—An em-
ployee or former employee who believes that he 
or she has been subjected to a reprisal prohib-
ited by paragraph (1) of this subsection may, 
within 90 days after the issuance of notice of 
such decision, appeal that decision within the 
agency of that employee or former employee 
through proceedings authorized by paragraph 
(7) of subsection (a), except that there shall be 
no appeal of an agency’s suspension of a secu-
rity clearance or access determination for pur-
poses of conducting an investigation, if that 
suspension lasts not longer than 1 year (or a 
longer period in accordance with a certification 
made under subsection (b)(7)). 
‘‘(B) CORRECTIVE
ACTION.—If, in the 
course of proceedings authorized under sub-
paragraph (A), it is determined that the ad-
verse security clearance or access determination 
violated paragraph (1) of this subsection, the 
agency shall take specific corrective action to 
return the employee or former employee, as 
nearly as practicable and reasonable, to the po-
sition such employee or former employee would 
have held had the violation not occurred. Such 
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corrective action shall include reasonable attor-
ney’s fees and any other reasonable costs in-
curred, and may include compensatory damages 
not to exceed $300,000, back pay and related 
benefits, and travel expenses. 
‘‘(C) CONTRIBUTING
FACTOR.—In deter-
mining whether the adverse security clearance 
or access determination violated paragraph (1) 
of this subsection, the agency shall find that 
paragraph (1) of this subsection was violated if 
a disclosure described in paragraph (1) was a 
contributing factor in the adverse security clear-
ance or access determination taken against the 
individual, unless the agency demonstrates by 
clear and convincing evidence that it would have 
taken the same action in the absence of such 
disclosure, giving the utmost deference to the 
agency’s assessment of the particular threat to 
the national security interests of the United 
States in the instant matter. 
‘‘(5) APPELLATE REVIEW OF SECURITY CLEAR-
ANCE ACCESS DETERMINATIONS BY DIRECTOR OF 
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 
term ‘Board’ means the appellate review board 
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established under section 204 of the Whistle-
blower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011. 
‘‘(B) APPEAL.—Within 60 days after re-
ceiving notice of an adverse final agency deter-
mination under a proceeding under paragraph 
(4), an employee or former employee may ap-
peal that determination to the Board. 
‘‘(C) POLICIES
AND
PROCEDURES.—The 
Board, in consultation with the Attorney Gen-
eral, Director of National Intelligence, and the 
Secretary of Defense, shall develop and imple-
ment policies and procedures for adjudicating 
the appeals authorized by subparagraph (B). 
The Director of National Intelligence and Sec-
retary of Defense shall jointly approve any 
rules, regulations, or guidance issued by the 
Board concerning the procedures for the use or 
handling of classified information. 
‘‘(D) REVIEW.—The Board’s review shall 
be on the complete agency record, which shall 
be made available to the Board. The Board may 
not hear witnesses or admit additional evidence. 
Any portions of the record that were submitted 
ex parte during the agency proceedings shall be 
submitted ex parte to the Board. 
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‘‘(E) FURTHER
FACT-FINDING
OR
IM-
PROPER DENIAL.—If the Board concludes that 
further fact-finding is necessary or finds that 
the agency improperly denied the employee or 
former employee the opportunity to present evi-
dence that, if admitted, would have a substan-
tial likelihood of altering the outcome, the 
Board shall remand the matter to the agency 
from which it originated for additional pro-
ceedings in accordance with the rules of proce-
dure issued by the Board. 
‘‘(F) DE
NOVO
DETERMINATION.—The 
Board shall make a de novo determination, 
based on the entire record and under the stand-
ards specified in paragraph (4), of whether the 
employee or former employee received an ad-
verse security clearance or access determination 
in violation of paragraph (1). In considering the 
record, the Board may weigh the evidence, 
judge the credibility of witnesses, and determine 
controverted questions of fact. In doing so, the 
Board may consider the prior fact-finder’s op-
portunity to see and hear the witnesses. 
‘‘(G) ADVERSE SECURITY CLEARANCE OR 
ACCESS DETERMINATION.—If the Board finds 
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that the adverse security clearance or access de-
termination violated paragraph (1), it shall then 
separately determine whether reinstating the se-
curity clearance or access determination is 
clearly consistent with the interests of national 
security, with any doubt resolved in favor of na-
tional security, under Executive Order 12968 
(60 Fed. Reg. 40245; relating to access to clas-
sified information) or any successor thereto (in-
cluding any adjudicative guidelines promulgated 
under such orders) or any subsequent Executive 
order, regulation, or policy concerning access to 
classified information. 
‘‘(H) REMEDIES.— 
‘‘(i) CORRECTIVE
ACTION.—If the 
Board finds that the adverse security 
clearance or access determination violated 
paragraph (1), it shall order the agency 
head to take specific corrective action to 
return the employee or former employee, 
as nearly as practicable and reasonable, to 
the position such employee or former em-
ployee would have held had the violation 
not occurred. Such corrective action shall 
include reasonable attorney’s fees and any 
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other reasonable costs incurred, and may 
include compensatory damages not to ex-
ceed $300,000 and back pay and related 
benefits. The Board may recommend, but 
may not order, reinstatement or hiring of 
a former employee. The Board may order 
that the former employee be treated as 
though the employee were transferring 
from the most recent position held when 
seeking other positions within the executive 
branch. Any corrective action shall not in-
clude the reinstating of any security clear-
ance or access determination. The agency 
head shall take the actions so ordered 
within 90 days, unless the Director of Na-
tional Intelligence, the Secretary of En-
ergy, or the Secretary of Defense, in the 
case of any component of the Department 
of Defense, determines that doing so would 
endanger national security. 
‘‘(ii) RECOMMENDED ACTION.—If the 
Board finds that reinstating the employee 
or former employee’s security clearance or 
access determination is clearly consistent 
with the interests of national security, it 
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shall recommend such action to the head of 
the entity selected under subsection (b) 
and the head of the affected agency. 
‘‘(I) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(i) ORDERS.—Consistent with the 
protection of sources and methods, at the 
time the Board issues an order, the Chair-
person of the Board shall notify— 
‘‘(I) the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Government Affairs of 
the Senate; 
‘‘(II) the Select Committee on In-
telligence of the Senate; 
‘‘(III) the Committee on Over-
sight and Government Reform of the 
House of Representatives; 
‘‘(IV) the Permanent Select Com-
mittee on Intelligence of the House of 
Representatives; and 
‘‘(V) the committees of the Sen-
ate and the House of Representatives 
that have jurisdiction over the employ-
ing agency, including in the case of a 
final order or decision of the Defense 
Intelligence 
Agency, 
the 
National 
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Geospatial-Intelligence 
Agency, 
the 
National Security Agency, or the Na-
tional 
Reconnaissance 
Office, 
the 
Committee on Armed Services of the 
Senate and the Committee on Armed 
Services of the House of Representa-
tives. 
‘‘(ii) 
RECOMMENDATIONS.—If 
the 
agency head and the head of the entity se-
lected under subsection (b) do not follow 
the Board’s recommendation to reinstate a 
clearance, the head of the entity selected 
under subsection (b) shall notify the com-
mittees described in subclauses (I) through 
(V) of clause (i). 
‘‘(6) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to permit or require judicial 
review of any— 
‘‘(A) agency action under this section; or 
‘‘(B) action of the appellate review board 
established under section 204 of the Whistle-
blower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011. 
‘‘(7) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.—Nothing in 
this section shall be construed to permit, authorize, 
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or require a private cause of action to challenge the 
merits of a security clearance determination.’’. 
(c) ACCESS
DETERMINATION
DEFINED.—Section 
3001(a) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Preven-
tion Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 435b(a)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) The term ‘access determination’ means the 
process for determining whether an employee— 
‘‘(A) is eligible for access to classified in-
formation in accordance with Executive Order 
12968 (60 Fed. Reg. 40245; relating to access 
to classified information), or any successor 
thereto, and Executive Order 10865 (25 Fed. 
Reg. 1583; relating to safeguarding classified 
information with industry); and 
‘‘(B) possesses a need to know under that 
Order.’’. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in section 
3001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention 
Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 435b), as amended by this Act, 
shall be construed to require the repeal or replacement of 
agency appeal procedures implementing Executive Order 
12968 (60 Fed. Reg. 40245; relating to classified national 
security information), or any successor thereto, and Exec-
utive Order 10865 (25 Fed. Reg. 1583; relating to safe-
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(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(H) An individual who has submitted a complaint 
or information to the Inspector General under this section 
may notify any member of Congress or congressional staff 
member of the fact that such individual has made a sub-
mission to the Inspector General, and of the date on which 
such submission was made.’’. 
SEC. 204. REGULATIONS; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; 
NONAPPLICABILITY 
TO 
CERTAIN 
TERMI-
NATIONS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘congressional oversight commit-
tees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Government Affairs of the Senate; 
(B) the Select Committee on Intelligence 
of the Senate; 
(C) the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform of the House of Representa-
tives; and 
(D) the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 
and 
(2) the term ‘‘intelligence community ele-
ment’’— 
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(A) means— 
(i) the Central Intelligence Agency, 
the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Na-
tional Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the 
National Security Agency, the Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence, and the 
National Reconnaissance Office; and 
(ii) any executive agency or unit 
thereof determined by the President under 
section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii) of title 5, United 
States Code, to have as its principal func-
tion the conduct of foreign intelligence or 
counterintelligence activities; and 
(B) does not include the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation. 
(b) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of National In-
telligence shall prescribe regulations to ensure that 
a personnel action shall not be taken against an em-
ployee of an intelligence community element as a re-
prisal for any disclosure of information described in 
section 2303a(b) of title 5, United States Code, as 
added by this Act. 
(2) APPELLATE
REVIEW
BOARD.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
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Act, the Director of National Intelligence, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Attor-
ney General, and the heads of appropriate agencies, 
shall establish an appellate review board that is 
broadly representative of affected Departments and 
agencies and is made up of individuals with expertise 
in merit systems principles and national security 
issues— 
(A) to hear whistleblower appeals related 
to security clearance access determinations de-
scribed in section 3001(j) of the Intelligence 
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 
(50 U.S.C. 435b), as added by this Act; and 
(B) that shall include a subpanel that re-
flects the composition of the intelligence com-
mittee, which shall be composed of intelligence 
community elements and inspectors general 
from intelligence community elements, for the 
purpose of hearing cases that arise in elements 
of the intelligence community. 
(c) REPORT ON THE STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION 
OF REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intel-
ligence shall submit a report on the status of the imple-
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mentation of the regulations promulgated under sub-
section (b) to the congressional oversight committees. 
(d) 
NONAPPLICABILITY
TO
CERTAIN
TERMI-
NATIONS.—Section 2303a of title 5, United States Code, 
as added by this Act, and section 3001 of the Intelligence 
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 
435b), as amended by this Act, shall not apply to adverse 
security clearance or access determinations if the affected 
employee is concurrently terminated under— 
(1) section 1609 of title 10, United States 
Code; 
(2) the authority of the Director of National In-
telligence under section 102A(m) of the National Se-
curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403–1(m)), if— 
(A) the Director personally summarily ter-
minates the individual; and 
(B) the Director— 
(i) determines the termination to be in 
the interest of the United States; 
(ii) determines that the procedures 
prescribed in other provisions of law that 
authorize the termination of the employ-
ment of such employee cannot be invoked 
in a manner consistent with the national 
security; and 
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(iii) not later than 5 days after such 
termination, 
notifies 
the 
congressional 
oversight committees of the termination; 
(3) the authority of the Director of the Central 
Intelligence Agency under section 104A(e) of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403– 
4a(e)), if— 
(A) the Director personally summarily ter-
minates the individual; and 
(B) the Director— 
(i) determines the termination to be in 
the interest of the United States; 
(ii) determines that the procedures 
prescribed in other provisions of law that 
authorize the termination of the employ-
ment of such employee cannot be invoked 
in a manner consistent with the national 
security; and 
(iii) not later than 5 days after such 
termination, 
notifies 
the 
congressional 
oversight committees of the termination; or 
(4) section 7532 of title 5, United States Code, 
if— 
(A) the agency head personally terminates 
the individual; and 
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(B) the agency head— 
(i) determines the termination to be in 
the interest of the United States; 
(ii) determines that the procedures 
prescribed in other provisions of law that 
authorize the termination of the employ-
ment of such employee cannot be invoked 
in a manner consistent with the national 
security; and 
(iii) not later than 5 days after such 
termination, 
notifies 
the 
congressional 
oversight committees of the termination. 
TITLE III—EFFECTIVE DATE; 
SAVINGS PROVISION 
SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act 
shall take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
SEC. 302. SAVINGS PROVISION. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to imply any 
limitation on any protections afforded by any other provi-
sion of law to employees and applicants. 
Æ 
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