H. R. 4310—207 
‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF COMPLAINT.—A person who believes 
that the person has been subjected to a reprisal prohibited 
by subsection (a) may submit a complaint to the Inspector 
General of the executive agency involved. Unless the Inspector 
General determines that the complaint is frivolous, fails to 
allege a violation of the prohibition in subsection (a), or has 
previously been addressed in another Federal or State judicial 
or administrative proceeding initiated by the complainant, the 
Inspector General shall investigate the complaint and, upon 
completion of such investigation, submit a report of the findings 
of the investigation to the person, the contractor or grantee 
concerned, and the head of the agency. 
‘‘(2) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACTION.— 
‘‘(A) DETERMINATION
OR
SUBMISSION
OF
REPORT
ON 
FINDINGS.—Except as provided under subparagraph (B), 
the Inspector General shall make a determination that 
a complaint is frivolous, fails to allege a violation of the 
prohibition in subsection (a), or has previously been 
addressed in another Federal or State judicial or adminis-
trative proceeding initiated by the complainant or submit 
a report under paragraph (1) within 180 days after 
receiving the complaint. 
‘‘(B) EXTENSION
OF
TIME.—If the Inspector General 
is unable to complete an investigation in time to submit 
a report within the 180-day period specified in subpara-
graph (A) and the person submitting the complaint agrees 
to an extension of time, the Inspector General shall submit 
a report under paragraph (1) within such additional period 
of time, up to 180 days, as shall be agreed upon between 
the Inspector General and the person submitting the com-
plaint. 
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE.—The Inspector General 
may not respond to any inquiry or disclose any information 
from or about any person alleging the reprisal, except to the 
extent that such response or disclosure is— 
‘‘(A) made with the consent of the person alleging 
the reprisal; 
‘‘(B) made in accordance with the provisions of section 
552a of title 5 or as required by any other applicable 
Federal law; or 
‘‘(C) necessary to conduct an investigation of the alleged 
reprisal. 
‘‘(4) TIME LIMITATION.—A complaint may not be brought 
under this subsection more than three years after the date 
on which the alleged reprisal took place. 
‘‘(c) REMEDY AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after receiving 
an Inspector General report pursuant to subsection (b), the 
head of the executive agency concerned shall determine whether 
there is sufficient basis to conclude that the contractor or 
grantee concerned has subjected the complainant to a reprisal 
prohibited by subsection (a) and shall either issue an order 
denying relief or shall take one or more of the following actions: 
‘‘(A) Order the contractor or grantee to take affirmative 
action to abate the reprisal. 
‘‘(B) Order the contractor or grantee to reinstate the 
person to the position that the person held before the
H. R. 4310—208 
reprisal, together with compensatory damages (including 
back pay), employment benefits, and other terms and condi-
tions of employment that would apply to the person in 
that position if the reprisal had not been taken. 
‘‘(C) Order the contractor or grantee to pay the 
complainant an amount equal to the aggregate amount 
of all costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees and 
expert witnesses’ fees) that were reasonably incurred by 
the complainant for, or in connection with, bringing the 
complaint regarding the reprisal, as determined by the 
head of the executive agency. 
‘‘(2) EXHAUSTION OF REMEDIES.—If the head of an executive 
agency issues an order denying relief under paragraph (1) 
or has not issued an order within 210 days after the submission 
of a complaint under subsection (b), or in the case of an exten-
sion of time under paragraph (b)(2)(B), not later than 30 days 
after the expiration of the extension of time, and there is 
no showing that such delay is due to the bad faith of the 
complainant, the complainant shall be deemed to have 
exhausted all administrative remedies with respect to the com-
plaint, and the complainant may bring a de novo action at 
law or equity against the contractor or grantee to seek compen-
satory damages and other relief available under this section 
in the appropriate district court of the United States, which 
shall have jurisdiction over such an action without regard to 
the amount in controversy. Such an action shall, at the request 
of either party to the action, be tried by the court with a 
jury. An action under this paragraph may not be brought 
more than two years after the date on which remedies are 
deemed to have been exhausted. 
‘‘(3) ADMISSIBILITY
OF
EVIDENCE.—An Inspector General 
determination and an agency head order denying relief under 
paragraph (2) shall be admissible in evidence in any de novo 
action at law or equity brought pursuant to this subsection. 
‘‘(4) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS.—Whenever a person fails 
to comply with an order issued under paragraph (1), the head 
of the executive agency concerned shall file an action for 
enforcement of such order in the United States district court 
for a district in which the reprisal was found to have occurred. 
In any action brought under this paragraph, the court may 
grant appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, compen-
satory and exemplary damages, and attorney fees and costs. 
The person upon whose behalf an order was issued may also 
file such an action or join in an action filed by the head 
of the executive agency. 
‘‘(5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person adversely affected or 
aggrieved by an order issued under paragraph (1) may obtain 
review of the order’s conformance with this subsection, and 
any regulations issued to carry out this section, in the United 
States court of appeals for a circuit in which the reprisal 
is alleged in the order to have occurred. No petition seeking 
such review may be filed more than 60 days after issuance 
of the order by the head of the executive agency. Review shall 
conform to chapter 7 of title 5. Filing such an appeal shall 
not act to stay the enforcement of the order of the head of 
an executive agency, unless a stay is specifically entered by 
the court.
H. R. 4310—209 
‘‘(6) BURDENS OF PROOF.—The legal burdens of proof speci-
fied in section 1221(e) of title 5 shall be controlling for the 
purposes of any investigation conducted by an Inspector Gen-
eral, decision by the head of an executive agency, or judicial 
or administrative proceeding to determine whether discrimina-
tion prohibited under this section has occurred. 
‘‘(7) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES NOT WAIVABLE.—The rights and 
remedies provided for in this section may not be waived by 
any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment. 
‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES.—The head of each executive 
agency shall ensure that contractors, subcontractors, and grantees 
of the agency inform their employees in writing of the rights and 
remedies provided under this section, in the predominant native 
language of the workforce. 
‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be construed 
to authorize the discharge of, demotion of, or discrimination against 
an employee for a disclosure other than a disclosure protected 
by subsection (a) or to modify or derogate from a right or remedy 
otherwise available to the employee. 
‘‘(f) EXCEPTIONS.—(1) This section shall not apply to any ele-
ment of the intelligence community, as defined in section 3(4) 
of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)). 
‘‘(2) This section shall not apply to any disclosure made by 
an employee of a contractor, subcontractor, or grantee of an element 
of the intelligence community if such disclosure— 
‘‘(A) relates to an activity of an element of the intelligence 
community; or 
‘‘(B) was discovered during contract, subcontract, or grantee 
services provided to an element of the intelligence community. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘abuse of authority’ means an arbitrary and 
capricious exercise of authority that is inconsistent with the 
mission of the executive agency concerned or the successful 
performance of a contract or grant of such agency. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘Inspector General’ means an Inspector Gen-
eral appointed under the Inspector General Act of 1978 and 
any Inspector General that receives funding from, or has over-
sight over contracts or grants awarded for or on behalf of, 
the executive agency concerned. 
‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section, or the amend-
ments made by this section, shall be construed to provide any 
rights to disclose classified information not otherwise provided by 
law. 
‘‘(i) DURATION OF SECTION.—This section shall be in effect for 
the four-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this section.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the 
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end 
the following new item: 
‘‘4712. Pilot program for enhancement of contractor protection from reprisal for dis-
closure of certain information.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amendments made by subsection 
(a) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and shall, during the period
H. R. 4310—210 
section 4712 of title 41, United States Code, as added by such 
subsection, is in effect, apply to— 
(A) all contracts and grants awarded on or after such 
date; 
(B) all task orders entered on or after such date pursu-
ant to contracts awarded before, on, or after such date; 
and 
(C) all contracts awarded before such date that are 
modified to include a contract clause providing for the 
applicability of such amendments. 
(2) REVISION OF FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to 
implement the requirements arising under the amendments 
made by this section. 
(3) INCLUSION OF CONTRACT CLAUSE IN CONTRACTS AWARDED 
BEFORE EFFECTIVE DATE.—At the time of any major modification 
to a contract that was awarded before the date that is 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the head 
of the contracting agency shall make best efforts to include 
in the contract a contract clause providing for the applicability 
of the amendments made by this section to the contract. 
(c) SUSPENSION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF SECTION 4705 OF TITLE 
41, UNITED STATES CODE, WHILE PILOT PROGRAM IS IN EFFECT.— 
Section 4705 of title 41, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) FOUR-YEAR SUSPENSION OF EFFECTIVENESS WHILE PILOT 
PROGRAM IS
IN EFFECT.—While section 4712 of this title is in 
effect, this section shall not be in effect.’’. 
(d) ALLOWABILITY OF LEGAL FEES.—Section 4310 of title 41, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘commenced by the Federal 
Government or a State’’ and inserting ‘‘commenced by the Fed-
eral Government, by a State, or by a contractor or grantee 
employee submitting a complaint under section 4712 of this 
title’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)(3), by striking ‘‘the imposition of a 
monetary penalty’’ and inserting ‘‘the imposition of a monetary 
penalty or an order to take corrective action under section 
4712 of this title’’. 
(e) 
GOVERNMENT
ACCOUNTABILITY
OFFICE
STUDY
AND 
REPORT.— 
(1) STUDY.—Not later than three years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall begin conducting a study to evaluate the 
implementation of section 4712 of title 41, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a). 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than four years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
to Congress a report on the results of the study required by 
paragraph (1), with such findings and recommendations as 
the Comptroller General considers appropriate. 
SEC. 829. EXTENSION OF CONTRACTOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST 
LIMITATIONS. 
(a) ASSESSMENT OF EXTENSION OF LIMITATIONS TO CERTAIN 
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS AND CONTRACTS.—Not later than 180 days
H. R. 4310—504 
SEC. 2602. AUTHORIZED ARMY RESERVE CONSTRUCTION AND LAND 
ACQUISITION PROJECTS. 
Using amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
appropriations in section 2606 and available for the National Guard 
and Reserve as specified in the funding table in section 4601, 
the Secretary of the Army may acquire real property and carry 
out military construction projects for the Army Reserve locations 
inside the United States, and in the amounts, set forth in the 
following table: 
Army Reserve 
State 
Location 
Amount 
California ....................
Fort Hunter Liggett .............................
$68,300,000 
Tustin ....................................................
$27,000,000 
Illinois ..........................
Fort Sheridan ........................................
$28,000,000 
Maryland ......................
Aberdeen Proving Ground ...................
$21,000,000 
Baltimore ...............................................
$10,000,000 
Massachusetts .............
Devens Reserve Forces Training Area 
$8,500,000 
Nevada ........................
Las Vegas ..............................................
$21,000,000 
New Jersey ..................
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst ....
$7,400,000 
Washington .................
Joint Base Lewis-McChord ..................
$40,000,000 
Wisconsin ....................
Fort McCoy ............................................
$47,800,000 
SEC. 2603. AUTHORIZED NAVY RESERVE AND MARINE CORPS RESERVE 
CONSTRUCTION AND LAND ACQUISITION PROJECTS. 
Using amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
appropriations in section 2606 and available for the National Guard 
and Reserve as specified in the funding table in section 4601, 
the Secretary of the Navy may acquire real property and carry 
out military construction projects for the Navy Reserve and Marine 
Corps Reserve locations inside the United States, and in the 
amounts, set forth in the following table: 
Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve 
State 
Location 
Amount 
Arizona ..........................
Yuma ....................................................
$5,379,000 
Iowa ...............................
Fort Des Moines ..................................
$19,162,000 
Louisiana .......................
New Orleans ........................................
$7,187,000 
New York .....................
Brooklyn ...............................................
$4,430,000 
Texas ............................
Fort Worth ...........................................
$11,256,000 
SEC. 2604. AUTHORIZED AIR NATIONAL GUARD CONSTRUCTION AND 
LAND ACQUISITION PROJECTS. 
Using amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
appropriations in section 2606 and available for the National Guard 
and Reserve as specified in the funding table in section 4601, 
the Secretary of the Air Force may acquire real property and 
carry out military construction projects for the Air National Guard 
locations inside the United States, and in the amounts, set forth 
in the following table: