IB
Union Calendar No. 468
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3829
[Report No. 105–747, Part I]
To amend the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to provide a process
for agency employees to submit urgent concerns to Congress, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 12, 1998
Mr. GOSS (for himself, Mr. BASS, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. YOUNG of Florida, Mr.
LEWIS of California, Mr. GIBBONS, and Mr. MCCOLLUM) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Intelligence (Per-
manent Select), and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform
and Oversight, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned
SEPTEMBER 25, 1998
Reported from the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence with an
amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
SEPTEMBER 25, 1998
Referral to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight extended for
a period ending not later than October 9, 1998
SEPTEMBER 25, 1998
Referred to the Committees on the Judiciary and National Security for a pe-
riod ending not later than October 9, 1998 for consideration of such pro-
visions of the bill and amendments as fall within their jurisdiction pursu-
ant to clause 1(j) and (k), rule X, respectively
OCTOBER 9, 1998
Referral to the Committees on Government Reform and Oversight, the Judici-
ary, and National Security extended for a period ending not later than
October 16, 1998
OCTOBER 16, 1998
Referral to the Committees on Government Reform and Oversight, the Judici-
ary, and National Security extended for a period ending not later than
October 20, 1998
OCTOBER 20, 1998
Additional sponsors: Mr. CASTLE, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. SHUSTER, and Mr.
HYDE
OCTOBER 20, 1998
The Committees on Government Reform and Oversight, the Judiciary, and
National Security discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 12, 1998]
A BILL
To amend the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to
provide a process for agency employees to submit urgent
concerns to Congress, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘In-
telligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of
1998’’.
(b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) national security is a shared responsibility,
requiring joint efforts and mutual respect by Congress
and the President;
(2) the principles of comity between the Branches
apply to the handling of national security informa-
tion;
(3) Congress, as a co-equal Branch of Govern-
ment, is empowered by the Constitution to serve as a
check on the Executive Branch; in that capacity, it
has a ‘‘need to know’’ of allegations of wrongdoing
within the Executive Branch, including allegations of
wrongdoing in the Intelligence Community;
(4) no basis in law exists for requiring prior au-
thorization of disclosures to the intelligence commit-
tees of Congress by employees of the Executive Branch
of classified information about wrongdoing within the
Intelligence Community;
(5) the risk of reprisal perceived by employees
and contractors of the Intelligence Community for re-
porting serious or flagrant problems to Congress may
have impaired the flow of information needed by the
intelligence committees to carry out oversight respon-
sibilities; and
(6) to encourage such reporting, an additional
procedure should be established that provides a means
for such employees and contractors to report to Con-
gress while safeguarding the classified information in-
volved in such reporting.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY EM-
PLOYEES WHO REPORT URGENT CONCERNS
TO CONGRESS.
(a) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE CENTRAL INTEL-
LIGENCE AGENCY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (d) of section 17 of
the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50
U.S.C. 403q) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(5)(A) An employee of the Agency, or of a contractor
to the Agency, who intends to report to Congress a com-
plaint or information with respect to an urgent concern
may report to the Inspector General.
‘‘(B) Within the 60-calendar day period beginning on
the day of receipt from an employee of a complaint or infor-
mation under subparagraph (A), the Inspector General
shall determine whether the complaint or information ap-
pears credible. If the Inspector General determines that the
complaint or information appears credible, the Inspector
General within such period shall transmit the complaint
or information to the Director.
‘‘(C) The Director shall, within 7 calendar days after
receipt of the transmittal from the Inspector General under
subparagraph (B), forward such transmittal to the intel-
ligence committees together with any comments the Director
considers appropriate.
‘‘(D) If the Inspector General does not transmit, or
does not transmit in an accurate form, the complaint or
information described in subparagraph (B), the employee
may contact the intelligence committees directly to submit
the complaint or information, if the employee—
‘‘(i) furnishes to the Director, through the Inspec-
tor General, a statement of the employee’s complaint
or information and notice of the employee’s intent to
contact the intelligence committees directly; and
‘‘(ii) obtains and follows direction from the Di-
rector, through the Inspector General, on how to con-
tact the intelligence committees in accordance with
appropriate security practices.
‘‘(E) The Inspector General shall notify the employee
of each action taken under this paragraph with respect to
the employee’s complaint or information not later than
three days after any such action is taken.
‘‘(F) In this paragraph:
‘‘(i) The term ‘urgent concern’ means any of the
following:
‘‘(I) A serious or flagrant problem, abuse,
violation of law or executive order, or deficiency
relating to the administration or operations of
an intelligence activity involving classified infor-
mation, but does not include differences of opin-
ions concerning public policy matters.
‘‘(II) A false statement to Congress, or a
willful withholding from Congress, on an issue of
material fact relating to the administration or
operation of an intelligence activity.
‘‘(III) An action, including a personnel ac-
tion described in section 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5,
United States Code, constituting reprisal or
threat of reprisal prohibited under subsection
(e)(3)(B) in response to the employee’s reporting
an urgent concern pursuant to the terms of this
act.
‘‘(ii) The term ‘intelligence committees’ means
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives and the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate.
‘‘(G) An action taken by the Director or the Inspector
General under this paragraph shall not be subject to judi-
cial review.’’.
(2) CLERICAL
AMENDMENT.—The heading to
subsection (d) of section 17 of such Act is amended by
inserting ‘‘; REPORTS
TO CONGRESS
ON URGENT
CONCERNS’’ before the period.
(b) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS WITH RESPECT TO IN-
SPECTORS GENERAL OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General Act of
1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by redesignating
section 8H as section 8I and by inserting after section
8G the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 8H. (a)(1)(A) Employees of the Defense Intel-
ligence Agency, the National Imagery and Mapping Agen-
cy, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National
Security Agency, and of contractors to those Agencies, who
intend to report to Congress a complaint or information
with respect to an urgent concern may report to the Inspec-
tor General of the Department of Defense (or designee).
‘‘(B) Employees of the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion, and of contractors to the Bureau, who intend to report
to Congress a complaint or information with respect to an
urgent concern may report to the Inspector General of the
Department of Justice (or designee).
‘‘(C) Any other employee of, or contractor to, an execu-
tive agency, or element 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 function the conduct
of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities, who
intends to report to Congress a complaint or information
with respect to an urgent concern may report to the appro-
Union Calendar No. 468
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3829
[Report No. 105–747, Part I]
A BILL
To amend the Central Intelligence Agency Act of
1949 to provide a process for agency employees
to submit urgent concerns to Congress, and for
other purposes.
OCTOBER 20, 1998
The Committees on Government Reform and Oversight,
the Judiciary, and National Security discharged; com-
mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed