confirmation of that element, or those elements, of 
the employee’s or former employee’s claim. 
‘‘(B) In any case in which an Executive agency 
asserts the privilege commonly referred to as the 
‘state secrets privilege’, whether or not an Inspector 
General has conducted an investigation under sub-
section (b), the head of that agency shall, at the 
same time it asserts the privilege, issue a report to 
authorized Members of Congress, accompanied by a 
classified annex if necessary, describing the reasons 
for the assertion, explaining why the court hearing 
the matter does not have the ability to maintain the 
protection of classified information related to the as-
sertion, detailing the steps the agency has taken to 
arrive at a mutually agreeable settlement with the 
employee or former employee, setting forth the date 
on which the classified information at issue will be 
declassified, and providing all relevant information 
about the underlying substantive matter. 
‘‘(d) APPLICABILITY TO NON-COVERED AGENCIES.— 
An employee or former employee of an Executive agency 
(or element or unit thereof) that is not a covered agency 
shall, for purposes of any disclosure of covered information 
(as described in subsection (a)(2)) that consists in whole 
or in part of classified or sensitive information, be entitled 
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to the same protections, rights, and remedies under this 
section as if that Executive agency (or element or unit 
thereof) were a covered agency. 
‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may 
be construed— 
‘‘(1) to authorize the discharge of, demotion of, 
or discrimination against an employee or former em-
ployee for a disclosure other than a disclosure pro-
tected by subsection (a) or (d) or to modify or dero-
gate from a right or remedy otherwise available to 
an employee or former employee; or 
‘‘(2) to preempt, modify, limit, or derogate any 
rights or remedies available to an employee or 
former employee under any other provision of law, 
rule, or regulation (including the Lloyd-La Failed 
Act). 
No court or administrative agency may require the ex-
haustion of any right or remedy under this section as a 
condition for pursuing any other right or remedy otherwise 
available to an employee or former employee under any 
other provision of law, rule, or regulation (as referred to 
in paragraph (2)). 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘covered information’, as used 
with respect to an employee or former employee, 
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means any information (including classified or sen-
sitive information) which the employee or former 
employee reasonably believes evidences— 
‘‘(A) any violation of any law, rule, or reg-
ulation; or 
‘‘(B) gross mismanagement, a gross waste 
of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 
and specific danger to public health or safety. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘covered agency’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
and 
‘‘(B) an element of the intelligence commu-
nity (as defined in section 3(4) of the National 
Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4))). 
‘‘(3) The term ‘authorized Member of Congress’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) with respect to covered information 
about sources, methods, and intelligence activi-
ties (as that term is defined in Executive Order 
12333) of an element of the intelligence com-
munity (as defined in section 3(4) of the Na-
tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
401a(4))), a member of the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Select Committee on Intel-
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ligence of the Senate, or any other committees 
of the House of Representatives or Senate to 
which this type of information is customarily 
provided; 
‘‘(B) with respect to special access pro-
grams specified in section 119 of title 10, an 
appropriate member of the Congressional de-
fense committees (as defined in such section); 
and 
‘‘(C) with respect to other covered informa-
tion, a member of the Permanent Select Com-
mittee on Intelligence or the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform of the 
House of Representatives, the Select Committee 
on Intelligence or the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
ate, or any other committees of the House of 
Representatives or the Senate that have over-
sight over the program which the covered infor-
mation concerns. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘authorized official of an Execu-
tive agency’ shall have such meaning as the Office 
of Personnel Management shall by regulation pre-
scribe, except that such term shall, with respect to 
any employee or former employee in an agency, in-
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clude the head, the general counsel, and the ombuds-
man of such agency.’’ 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 2303 the 
following: 
‘‘2303a. National security whistleblower rights.’’. 
SEC. 11. ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE 
WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 
(a) INCREASED PROTECTION FROM REPRISAL.—Sec-
tion 315(a) of the Federal Property and Administrative 
Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 265) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘disclosing to a Member of Congress’’ and all that fol-
lows through the end of the subsection and inserting the 
following: ‘‘disclosing, including a disclosure in the ordi-
nary course of an employee’s duties, to a Member of Con-
gress, a representative of a committee of Congress, an In-
spector General, the Government Accountability Office, an 
agency employee responsible for contract oversight or 
management, an authorized official of an executive agency 
or the Department of Justice or other Federal regulatory 
or law enforcement agency, or a person with supervisory 
authority over the employee (or any other person who has 
the authority to investigate or act on misconduct, a court, 
or a grand jury) information that the employee reasonably 
believes is evidence of gross mismanagement of a contract 
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or grant, gross waste of agency funds, an abuse of author-
ity related to the implementation of a contract or grant, 
a substantial and specific danger to public health or safe-
ty, or a violation of a law, rule, or regulation related to 
a contract (including the competition for or negotiation 
of a contract) or grant.’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION OF INSPECTOR GENERAL DE-
TERMINATION.—Subsection (b) of section 315 of such Act 
is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘INVESTIGATION 
OF COMPLAINTS.—’’; 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided under subparagraph (B), 
the Inspector General shall make a determination that a 
complaint is frivolous or submit a report under paragraph 
(1) within 180 days after receiving the complaint. 
‘‘(B) If the Inspector General is unable to complete 
an investigation in time to submit a report within the 180- 
day period specified in subparagraph (A) and the person 
submitting the complaint agrees to an extension of time, 
the Inspector General shall submit a report under para-
graph (1) within such additional period of time as shall 
be agreed upon between the Inspector General and the 
person submitting the complaint. 
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‘‘(4) The person alleging the reprisal shall have ac-
cess to the complete investigation file of the Inspector 
General in accordance with section 552a of title 5, United 
States Code (popularly referred to as the ‘Privacy Act’). 
The investigation of the Inspector General shall be deemed 
closed for purposes of disclosure under such section when 
an employee files an appeal to an agency head or a court 
of competent jurisdiction.’’. 
(c) ACCELERATION OF SCHEDULE FOR DENYING RE-
LIEF OR PROVIDING REMEDY.—Subsection (c) of such 
section is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘If the head 
of the agency determines that a contractor has sub-
jected a person to a reprisal prohibited by subsection 
(a), the head of the agency may’’ and inserting the 
following: ‘‘Not later than 30 days after receiving an 
Inspector General report pursuant to subsection (b), 
the head of the agency concerned shall determine 
whether there is sufficient basis to conclude that the 
contractor concerned has subjected the complainant 
to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a) and shall 
either issue an order denying relief or shall’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting after ‘‘to-
gether with’’ the following: ‘‘compensatory damages 
and’’; 
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(3) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting at the end 
before the period the following: ‘‘or a court of com-
petent jurisdiction’’; 
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 
paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(2)(A) 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 com-
plaint under subsection (b), or in the case of an extension 
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 
complaint, and the complainant may bring a de novo ac-
tion at law or equity against the contractor to seek com-
pensatory 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 ac-
tion shall, at the request of either party to the action, be 
tried by the court with a jury. 
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‘‘(B) In any action under subparagraph (A), the es-
tablishment of the occurrence of a reprisal shall be gov-
erned by the provisions of subsection (b)(3)(A), including 
the burden of proof in that subsection, and the establish-
ment that an action alleged to constitute a reprisal did 
not constitute a reprisal shall be subject to the burden 
of proof specified in subsection (b)(3)(C).’’; and 
(6) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, by in-
serting at the end before the period the following: 
‘‘and attorneys fees and costs’’. 
(d) PROHIBITION
ON
CONDITIONS
OF
EMPLOY-
MENT.—Section 315 of such Act is further amended by 
redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f) and insert-
ing after subsection (d) the following new subsection (e): 
‘‘(e) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law— 
‘‘(1) subject to paragraph (3), the rights and 
remedies provided for in this section may not be 
waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition 
of employment, including by any predispute arbitra-
tion agreement; 
‘‘(2) subject to paragraph (3), no predispute ar-
bitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if 
it requires arbitration of a dispute arising under this 
section; and 
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‘‘(3) an arbitration provision in a collective bar-
gaining agreement shall be enforceable as to dis-
putes arising under the collective bargaining agree-
ment.’’. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (f) of such section, as 
redesignated by subsection (d), is amended by inserting 
before the period at the end the following: ‘‘and any In-
spector General that receives funding from, or has over-
sight over contracts awarded for or on behalf of, an execu-
tive agency’’. 
SEC. 12. PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES AFFECTING 
THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINIS-
TRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 23 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 2304 and 2305 as 
sections 2305 and 2306, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 2303a (as inserted 
by section 10) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 2304. PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES AFFECT-
ING THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY AD-
MINISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, any individual holding or applying for a posi-
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tion within the Transportation Security Administration 
shall be covered by— 
‘‘(1) the provisions of paragraphs (1), (8), and 
(9) of section 2302(b); 
‘‘(2) any provision of law implementing para-
graph (1), (8), or (9) of section 2302(b) by pro-
viding any right or remedy available to an employee 
or applicant for employment in the civil service; and 
‘‘(3) any rule or regulation prescribed under 
any provision of law referred to in paragraph (1) or 
(2). 
‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to affect any rights, apart from 
those described in subsection (a), to which an individual 
described in subsection (a) might otherwise be entitled 
under law. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef-
fect as of the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 
by striking the items relating to sections 2304 and 2305, 
respectively, and by inserting the following: 
‘‘2304. Prohibited personnel practices affecting the Transportation Security Ad-
ministration. 
‘‘2305. Responsibility of the Government Accountability Office. 
‘‘2306. Coordination with certain other provisions of law.’’. 
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clause (i) of section 2302(b)(8)(B) of title 
5, United States Code, for the receipt of 
disclosures. 
(2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall apply 
to any disclosure of information by an employee or 
applicant without restriction to time, place, form, 
motive, context, or prior disclosure made to any per-
son by an employee or applicant, including a disclo-
sure made in the ordinary course of an employee’s 
duties. 
(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to imply any limitation on 
the protections of employees and applicants afforded 
by any other provision of law, including protections 
with respect to any disclosure of information be-
lieved to be evidence of censorship related to Federal 
research or technical information. 
SEC. 14. SECURITY CLEARANCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 7702 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 7702a. ACTIONS RELATING TO SECURITY CLEAR-
ANCES. 
‘‘(a) In any appeal relating to the suspension, revoca-
tion, or other determination relating to a security clear-
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ance or access determination, the Merit Systems Protec-
tion Board or any reviewing court— 
‘‘(1) shall determine whether paragraph (8) or 
(9) of section 2302(b) was violated; and 
‘‘(2) may issue declaratory relief and any other 
appropriate relief. 
‘‘(b)(1) If, in any final judgment, the Board or court 
declares that any suspension, revocation, or other deter-
mination with regard to a security clearance or access de-
termination was made in violation of paragraph (8) or (9) 
of section 2302(b), the affected agency shall conduct a re-
view of that suspension, revocation, access determination, 
or other determination, giving great weight to the Board 
or court judgment. 
‘‘(2) Not later than 30 days after any Board or court 
judgment declaring that a security clearance suspension, 
revocation, access determination, or other determination 
was made in violation of paragraph (8) or (9) of section 
2302(b), the affected agency shall issue an unclassified re-
port to the congressional committees of jurisdiction (with 
a classified annex if necessary), detailing the cir-
cumstances of the agency’s security clearance suspension, 
revocation, other determination, or access determination. 
A report under this paragraph shall include any proposed 
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agency action with regard to the security clearance or ac-
cess determination. 
‘‘(c) An allegation that a security clearance or access 
determination was revoked or suspended in retaliation for 
a protected disclosure shall receive expedited review by the 
Office of Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection 
Board, and any reviewing court. 
‘‘(d) For purposes of this section, corrective action 
may not be ordered if the agency demonstrates by a pre-
ponderance of the evidence that it would have taken the 
same personnel action in the absence of such disclosure.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections for chapter 77 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 7702 the following: 
‘‘7702a. Actions relating to security clearances.’’. 
SEC. 15. SCOPE OF DUE PROCESS. 
(a) SPECIAL COUNSEL.—Section 1214(b)(4)(B)(ii) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, 
after a finding that a protected disclosure was a contrib-
uting factor,’’ after ‘‘ordered if’’. 
(b) INDIVIDUAL ACTION.—Section 1221(e)(2) of title 
5, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, after 
a finding that a protected disclosure was a contributing 
factor,’’ after ‘‘ordered if’’. 
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SEC. 16. CLARIFICATION OF WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS FOR 
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INFORMATION. 
Section 214(c) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 133(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘For purposes of this section, a permissible use 
of independently obtained information includes the disclo-
sure of such information under section 2302(b)(8) of title 
5, United States Code.’’. 
SEC. 17. ADVISING EMPLOYEES OF RIGHTS. 
Section 2302(c) of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting, ‘‘, including how to make a lawful 
disclosure of information that is specifically required by 
law or Executive order to be kept secret in the interest 
of national defense or the conduct of foreign affairs to the 
Special Counsel, the Inspector General of an agency, Con-
gress, or other agency employee designated to receive dis-
closures’’ after ‘‘chapter 12 of this title’’. 
SEC. 18. SPECIAL COUNSEL AMICUS CURIAE APPEARANCE. 
Section 1212 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) The Special Counsel may appear as amicus cu-
riae in any action brought in a court of the United States 
related to any civil action brought in connection with para-
graph (8) or (9) of section 2302(b) or subchapter III of 
chapter 73, or as otherwise authorized by law. In any such 
action, the Special Counsel may present the views of the 
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Special Counsel with respect to compliance with paragraph 
(8) or (9) of section 2302(b) or subchapter III of chapter 
73 and the impact court decisions would have on the en-
forcement of those provisions of law.’’. 
SEC. 19. ATTORNEY FEES. 
Section 1204(m)(1) of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended by striking ‘‘agency involved’’ and inserting 
‘‘agency where the prevailing party is employed or has ap-
plied for employment’’. 
SEC. 20. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act shall take effect 30 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, except as provided in the 
amendment made by section 12(a)(2). 
Æ 
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