(B) The notification required by subpara-
graph (A) shall include the following: 
(i) A description of the infrastructure 
investment funded. 
(ii) The purpose of the infrastructure 
investment. 
(iii) The total cost of the infrastruc-
ture investment. 
(iv) The rationale of the agency for 
funding the infrastructure investment with 
funds made available under this Act. 
(v) The name of the person to contact 
at the agency if there are concerns with 
the infrastructure investment and, with re-
spect to Federal agencies, an email address 
for the Federal official in the agency whom 
the public can contact. 
(vi) In the case of State or local agen-
cies, a certification from the Governor, 
mayor, or other chief executive, as appro-
priate, that the infrastructure investment 
has received the full review and vetting re-
quired by law and that the chief executive 
accepts responsibility that the infrastruc-
ture investment is an appropriate use of
taxpayer dollars. A State or local agency 
may not receive infrastructure investment 
funding from funds made available in this 
Act unless this certification is made. 
(2) OPERATIONAL FUNDING.—With respect to 
funds made available under this Act in the form of 
grants for operational purposes to State or local gov-
ernment agencies or other organizations, the agency 
or organization shall publish on the website Recov-
ery.gov a description of the intended use of the 
funds, including the number of jobs sustained or cre-
ated. 
(c) AVAILABILITY ON INTERNET OF CONTRACTS AND 
GRANTS.—Each contract awarded or grant issued using 
funds made available in this Act shall be posted on the 
Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov. Propri-
etary data that is required to be kept confidential under 
applicable Federal or State law or regulation shall be re-
dacted before posting. 
SEC. 1202. INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEWS. 
(a) REVIEWS.—Any inspector general of a Federal 
department or executive agency shall review, as appro-
priate, any concerns raised by the public about specific 
investments using funds made available in this Act. Any 
findings of an inspector general resulting from such a re-
view shall be relayed immediately to the head of each de-
partment and agency. In addition, the findings of such re-
views, along with any audits conducted by any inspector 
general of funds made available in this Act, shall be posted 
on the Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov. 
(b) EXAMINATION
OF
RECORDS.—The Inspector 
General of the agency concerned may examine any records 
related to obligations of funds made available in this Act. 
SEC. 1203. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE-
VIEWS AND REPORTS. 
(a) REVIEWS AND REPORTS.—The Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States shall conduct bimonthly reviews 
and prepare reports on such reviews on the use by selected 
States and localities of funds made available in this Act. 
Such reports, along with any audits conducted by the 
Comptroller General of such funds, shall be posted on the 
Internet and linked to the website Recovery.gov. 
(b) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS.—The Comptroller 
General may examine any records related to obligations 
of funds made available in this Act. 
SEC. 1204. COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS REPORTS. 
The Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, 
in consultation with the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 
submit quarterly reports to Congress detailing the esti-
mated impact of programs under this Act on employment, 
economic growth, and other key economic indicators. 
SEC. 1205. SPECIAL CONTRACTING PROVISIONS. 
The Federal Acquisition Regulation shall apply to 
contracts awarded with funds made available in this Act. 
To the maximum extent possible, such contracts shall be 
awarded as fixed-price contracts through the use of com-
petitive procedures. Existing contracts so awarded may be 
utilized in order to obligate such funds expeditiously. Any 
contract awarded with such funds that is not fixed-price 
and not awarded using competitive procedures shall be 
posted in a special section of the website Recovery.gov. 
PART 2—ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY 
BOARD 
SEC. 1221. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
TRANSPARENCY BOARD. 
There is established a board to be known as the ‘‘Re-
covery Act Accountability and Transparency Board’’ 
(hereafter in this subtitle referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) to 
coordinate and conduct oversight of Federal spending 
under this Act to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. 
SEC. 1222. COMPOSITION OF BOARD. 
(a) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed of 
seven members as follows:
(1) The Chief Performance Officer of the Presi-
dent, who shall chair the Board. 
(2) Six members designated by the President 
from the inspectors general and deputy secretaries 
of the Departments of Education, Energy, Health 
and Human Services, Transportation, and other 
Federal departments and agencies to which funds 
are made available in this Act. 
(b) TERMS.—Each member of the Board shall serve 
for a term to be determined by the President. 
SEC. 1223. FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD. 
(a) OVERSIGHT.—The Board shall coordinate and 
conduct oversight of spending under this Act to prevent 
waste, fraud, and abuse. In addition to responsibilities set 
forth in this subtitle, the responsibilities of the Board shall 
include the following: 
(1) Ensuring that the reporting of information 
regarding contract and grants under this Act meets 
applicable standards and specifies the purpose of the 
contract or grant and measures of performance. 
(2) Verifying that competition requirements ap-
plicable to contracts and grants under this Act and 
other applicable Federal law have been satisfied.
(3) Investigating spending under this Act to de-
termine whether wasteful spending, poor contract or 
grant management, or other abuses are occurring. 
(4) Reviewing whether there are sufficient 
qualified acquisition and grant personnel overseeing 
spending under this Act. 
(5) Reviewing whether acquisition and grant 
personnel receive adequate training and whether 
there are appropriate mechanisms for interagency 
collaboration. 
(b) REPORTS.— 
(1) FLASH AND OTHER REPORTS.—The Board 
shall submit to Congress reports, to be known as 
‘‘flash reports’’, on potential management and fund-
ing problems that require immediate attention. The 
Board also shall submit to Congress such other re-
ports as the Board considers appropriate on the use 
and benefits of funds made available in this Act. 
(2) QUARTERLY.—The Board shall submit to 
the President and Congress quarterly reports sum-
marizing its findings and the findings of agency in-
spectors general and may issue additional reports as 
appropriate. 
(3) ANNUALLY.—On an annual basis, the 
Board shall prepare a consolidated report on the use
of funds under this Act. All reports shall be publicly 
available and shall be posted on the Internet website 
Recovery.gov, except that portions of reports may be 
redacted if the portions would disclose information 
that is protected from public disclosure under sec-
tion 552 of title 5, United States Code (popularly 
known as the Freedom of Information Act). 
(c) RECOMMENDATIONS TO AGENCIES.—The Board 
shall make recommendations to Federal agencies on meas-
ures to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. A Federal agency 
shall, within 30 days after receipt of any such rec-
ommendation, submit to the Board, the President, and the 
congressional committees of jurisdiction a report on 
whether the agency agrees or disagrees with the rec-
ommendations and what steps, if any, the agency plans 
to take to implement the recommendations. 
SEC. 1224. POWERS OF THE BOARD. 
(a) COORDINATION OF AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS 
BY AGENCY INSPECTORS GENERAL.—The Board shall co-
ordinate the audits and investigations of spending under 
this Act by agency inspectors general. 
(b) CONDUCT OF REVIEWS BY BOARD.—The Board 
may conduct reviews of spending under this Act and may 
collaborate on such reviews with any inspector general.
(c) MEETINGS.—The Board may, for the purpose of 
carrying out its duties under this Act, hold public meet-
ings, sit and act at times and places, and receive informa-
tion as the Board considers appropriate. The Board shall 
meet at least once a month. 
(d) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Board may 
secure directly from any department or agency of the 
United States information necessary to enable it to carry 
out its duties under this Act. Upon request of the Chair-
man of the Board, the head of that department or agency 
shall furnish that information to the Board. 
(e) CONTRACTS.—The Board may enter into con-
tracts to enable the Board to discharge its duties under 
this Act. 
SEC. 1225. STAFFING. 
(a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Chairman of the 
Board may appoint and fix the compensation of an execu-
tive director and other personnel as may be required to 
carry out the functions of the Board. The Director shall 
be paid at the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Execu-
tive Schedule. 
(b) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 
of the Board, the head of any Federal department or agen-
cy may detail any Federal official or employee, including 
officials and employees of offices of inspector general, to
the Board without reimbursement from the Board, and 
such detailed staff shall retain the rights, status, and 
privileges of his or her regular employment without inter-
ruption. 
(c) OFFICE SPACE.—Office space shall be provided 
to the Board within the Executive Office of the President. 
SEC. 1226. RECOVERY.GOV. 
(a) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH WEBSITE.—The 
Board shall establish and maintain a website on the Inter-
net to be named Recovery.gov, to foster greater account-
ability and transparency in the use of funds made avail-
able in this Act. 
(b) PURPOSE.—Recovery.gov shall be a portal or 
gateway to key information related to this Act and provide 
a window to other Government websites with related infor-
mation. 
(c) MATTERS COVERED.—In establishing the website 
Recovery.gov, the Board shall ensure the following: 
(1) The website shall provide materials explain-
ing what this Act means for citizens. The materials 
shall be easy to understand and regularly updated. 
(2) The website shall provide accountability in-
formation, including a database of findings from au-
dits, inspectors general, and the Government Ac-
countability Office.
(3) The website shall provide data on relevant 
economic, financial, grant, and contract information 
in user-friendly visual presentations to enhance pub-
lic awareness of the use funds made available in this 
Act. 
(4) The website shall provide detailed data on 
contracts awarded by the Government for purposes 
of carrying out this Act, including information about 
the competitiveness of the contracting process, noti-
fication of solicitations for contracts to be awarded, 
and information about the process that was used for 
the award of contracts. 
(5) The website shall include printable reports 
on funds made available in this Act obligated by 
month to each State and congressional district. 
(6) The website shall provide a means for the 
public to give feedback on the performance of con-
tracts awarded for purposes of carrying out this Act. 
(7) The website shall be enhanced and updated 
as necessary to carry out the purposes of this sub-
title. 
(8) The website shall provide, by location, links 
to and information on how to access job opportuni-
ties created at or by entities receiving funding under 
this Act, including, if possible, links to or informa-
tion about local employment agencies; state, local 
and other public agencies receiving funding; and pri-
vate firms contracted to perform work funded by 
this Act. 
SEC. 1227. PRESERVATION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF IN-
SPECTORS GENERAL. 
Inspectors general shall retain independent authority 
to determine whether to conduct an audit or investigation 
of spending under this Act. If the Board requests that 
an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting 
an audit or investigation and the inspector general rejects 
the request in whole or in part, the inspector general shall, 
within 30 days after receipt of the request, submit to the 
Board, the agency head, and the congressional committees 
of jurisdiction a report explaining why the inspector gen-
eral has rejected the request in whole or in part. 
SEC. 1228. COORDINATION WITH THE COMPTROLLER GEN-
ERAL AND STATE AUDITORS. 
The Board shall coordinate its oversight activities 
with the Comptroller General of the United States and 
State auditor generals. 
SEC. 1229. INDEPENDENT ADVISORY PANEL. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a panel 
to be known as the ‘‘Independent Advisory Panel’’ to ad-
vise the Board.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be composed of 
five members appointed by the President from among indi-
viduals with expertise in economics, public finance, con-
tracting, accounting, or other relevant fields. 
(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Panel shall make rec-
ommendations to the Board on actions the Board could 
take to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spend-
ing under this Act. 
(d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Panel 
shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 
of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 
under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
SEC. 1230. FUNDING. 
There 
is 
hereby 
appropriated 
to 
the 
Board 
$14,000,000 to carry out this subtitle. 
SEC. 1231. BOARD TERMINATION. 
The Board shall terminate 12 months after 90 per-
cent of the funds made available under this Act have been 
expended, as determined by the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget.
PART 3—ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS 
SEC. 1241. LIMITATION ON THE LENGTH OF CERTAIN NON-
COMPETITIVE CONTRACTS. 
No contract entered into using funds made available 
in this Act pursuant to the authority provided in section 
303(c)(2) of the Federal Property and Administrative 
Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 253(c)(2)) that is for an 
amount greater than the simplified acquisition threshold 
(as defined in section 4(11) of the Office of Federal Pro-
curement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. (4)(11))— 
(1) may exceed the time necessary— 
(A) to meet the unusual and compelling re-
quirements of the work to be performed under 
the contract; and 
(B) for the executive agency to enter into 
another contract for the required goods or serv-
ices through the use of competitive procedures; 
and 
(2) may exceed one year unless the head of the 
executive agency entering into such contract deter-
mines that exceptional circumstances apply.
SEC. 1242. ACCESS OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF-
FICE AND OFFICES OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 
TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. 
(a) ACCESS.—Each contract awarded using funds 
made available in this Act shall provide that the Comp-
troller General and his representatives, and any represent-
atives of an appropriate inspector general appointed under 
section 3 or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.), are authorized— 
(1) to examine any records of the contractor or 
any of its subcontractors, or any State or local agen-
cy administering such contract, that directly pertain 
to, and involve transactions relating to, the contract 
or subcontract; and 
(2) to interview any current employee regarding 
such transactions. 
(b) RELATIONSHIP
TO
EXISTING
AUTHORITY.— 
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit or re-
strict in any way any existing authority of the Comptroller 
General or an Inspector General. 
SEC. 1243. PROTECTING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
AND CONTRACTOR WHISTLEBLOWERS. 
(a) PROHIBITION OF REPRISALS.—An employee of 
any non-Federal employer receiving funds made available 
in this Act may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise 
discriminated against as a reprisal for disclosing to the
Board, an inspector general, the Comptroller General, a 
member of Congress, or a Federal agency head, or their 
representatives, information that the employee reasonably 
believes is evidence of— 
(1) gross mismanagement of an executive agen-
cy contract or grant; 
(2) a gross waste of executive agency funds; 
(3) a substantial and specific danger to public 
health or safety; or 
(4) a violation of law related to an executive 
agency contract (including the competition for or ne-
gotiation of a contract) or grant awarded or issued 
to carry out this Act. 
(b) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.— 
(1) 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 that awarded the contract or 
issued the grant. Unless the inspector general deter-
mines that the complaint is frivolous, 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 
person’s employer, the head of the Federal agency
that awarded the contract or issued the grant, and 
the Board. 
(2)(A) Except as provided under subparagraph 
(B), the inspector general shall make a determina-
tion 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 com-
plete 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 paragraph (1) within such ad-
ditional period of time as shall be agreed upon be-
tween the inspector general and the person submit-
ting the complaint. 
(c) REMEDY AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.— 
(1) 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 
non-Federal employer 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 employer to take affirmative 
action to abate the reprisal. 
(B) Order the employer to reinstate the 
person to the position that the person held be-
fore the reprisal, together with the compensa-
tion (including back pay), employment benefits, 
and other terms and conditions of employment 
that would apply to the person in that position 
if the reprisal had not been taken. 
(C) Order the employer to pay the com-
plainant an amount equal to the aggregate 
amount of all costs and expenses (including at-
torneys’ fees and expert witnesses’ fees) that 
were reasonably incurred by the complainant 
for, or in connection with, bringing the com-
plaint regarding the reprisal, as determined by 
the head of the agency. 
(2) 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 extension of time under paragraph (b)(2)(B), 
not later than 30 days after the expiration of the ex-
tension 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 ac-
tion at law or equity against the employer to seek 
compensatory 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. 
(3) 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 sub-
section. 
(4) Whenever a person fails to comply with an 
order issued under paragraph (1), the head of the 
agency shall file an action for enforcement of such 
order in the United States district court for a dis-
trict in which the reprisal was found to have oc-
curred. In any action brought under this paragraph, 
the court may grant appropriate relief, including in-
junctive relief and compensatory and exemplary 
damages.
(5) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved 
by an order issued under paragraph (1) may obtain 
review of the order’s conformance with this sub-
section, 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 agency. Review shall con-
form to chapter 7 of title 5. 
(d) 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. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.— 
(1) 
NON-FEDERAL
EMPLOYER
RECEIVING 
FUNDS UNDER THIS ACT.—The term ‘‘non-Federal 
employer receiving funds made available in this Act’’ 
means— 
(A) with respect to a Federal contract 
awarded or Federal grant issued to carry out 
this Act, the contractor or grantee, as the case
may be, if the contractor or grantee is an em-
ployer; or 
(B) a State or local government, if the 
State or local government has received funds 
made available in this Act. 
(2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive 
agency’’ has the meaning given that term in section 
4 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act 
(41 U.S.C. 403). 
(3) STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘‘State or local government’’ means— 
(A) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 
the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, or any other territory or possession of 
the United States; or 
(B) the government of any political sub-
division of a government listed in subparagraph 
(A). 
PART 4—FURTHER ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS 
SEC. 1261. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This part may be cited as the 
‘‘Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2009’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this part is as follows: 
PART 4—FURTHER ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS 
Sec. 1261. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 1262. Clarification of disclosures covered. 
Sec. 1263. Definitional amendments. 
Sec. 1264. Rebuttable presumption. 
Sec. 1265. Nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements. 
Sec. 1266. Exclusion of agencies by the President. 
Sec. 1267. Disciplinary action. 
Sec. 1268. Government Accountability Office study on revocation of security 
clearances. 
Sec. 1269. Alternative recourse. 
Sec. 1270. National security whistleblower rights. 
Sec. 1271. Enhancement of contractor employee whistleblower protections. 
Sec. 1272. Prohibited personnel practices affecting the Transportation Security 
Administration. 
Sec. 1273. Clarification of whistleblower rights relating to scientific and other 
research. 
Sec. 1274. Effective date. 
SEC. 1262. CLARIFICATION OF DISCLOSURES COVERED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302(b)(8) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘which the employee or ap-
plicant reasonably believes evidences’’ and in-
serting ‘‘, without restriction as to time, place, 
form, motive, context, forum, or prior disclosure 
made to any person by an employee or appli-
cant, including a disclosure made in the ordi-
nary course of an employee’s duties, that the 
employee or applicant reasonably believes is evi-
dence of’’; and
(B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘a violation’’ 
and inserting ‘‘any violation’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘which the employee or ap-
plicant reasonably believes evidences’’ and in-
serting ‘‘, without restriction as to time, place, 
form, motive, context, forum, or prior disclosure 
made to any person by an employee or appli-
cant, including a disclosure made in the ordi-
nary course of an employee’s duties, of informa-
tion that the employee or applicant reasonably 
believes is evidence of’’; and 
(B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘a violation’’ 
and inserting ‘‘any violation (other than a viola-
tion of this section)’’. 
(b) PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES UNDER 
SECTION 2302(b)(9).—Title 5, United States Code, is 
amended in subsections (a)(3), (b)(4)(A), and (b)(4)(B)(i) 
of section 1214 and in subsections (a) and (e)(1) of sec-
tion 1221 by inserting ‘‘or 2302(b)(9)(B)–(D)’’ after ‘‘sec-
tion 2302(b)(8)’’ each place it appears. 
SEC. 1263. DEFINITIONAL AMENDMENTS. 
(a) DISCLOSURE.—Section 2302(a)(2) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) ‘disclosure’ means a formal or informal 
communication, but does not include a communica-
tion concerning policy decisions that lawfully exer-
cise discretionary authority unless the employee or 
applicant providing the disclosure reasonably believes 
that the disclosure evidences— 
‘‘(i) any violation of any law, rule, or regu-
lation; or 
‘‘(ii) gross mismanagement, a gross waste 
of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 
and specific danger to public health or safety.’’. 
(b) CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE.—Sections 
1214(b)(4)(B)(ii) and 1221(e)(2) of title 5, United States 
Code, are amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘For purposes of the preceding sentence, ‘clear and con-
vincing evidence’ means evidence indicating that the mat-
ter to be proved is highly probable or reasonably certain.’’. 
SEC. 1264. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION. 
Section 2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘For pur-
poses of paragraph (8), any presumption relating to the 
performance of a duty by an employee who has authority 
to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any 
personnel action may be rebutted by substantial evidence. 
For purposes of paragraph (8), a determination as to 
whether an employee or applicant reasonably believes that 
such employee or applicant has disclosed information that 
evidences any violation of law, rule, regulation, gross mis-
management, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of author-
ity, or a substantial and specific danger to public health 
or safety shall be made by determining whether a disin-
terested observer with knowledge of the essential facts 
known to or readily ascertainable by the employee or appli-
cant could reasonably conclude that the actions of the 
Government evidence such violations, mismanagement, 
waste, abuse, or danger.’’. 
SEC. 1265. NONDISCLOSURE POLICIES, FORMS, AND AGREE-
MENTS. 
(a) PERSONNEL ACTION.—Section 2302(a)(2)(A) of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in clause (x), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(2) by redesignating clause (xi) as clause (xii); 
and 
(3) by inserting after clause (x) the following:
‘‘(xi) the implementation or enforcement of 
any nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement; 
and’’. 
(b) PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICE.—Section 
2302(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para-
graph (14); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (11) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(12) implement or enforce any nondisclosure 
policy, form, or agreement, if such policy, form, or 
agreement does not contain the following statement: 
‘These provisions are consistent with and do not su-
persede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the em-
ployee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by 
Executive Order No. 12958; section 7211 of title 5, 
United States Code (governing disclosures to Con-
gress); section 1034 of title 10, United States Code 
(governing disclosures to Congress by members of 
the military); section 2302(b)(8) of title 5, United 
States Code (governing disclosures of illegality, 
waste, fraud, abuse, or public health or safety 
threats); the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of
1982 (50 U.S.C. 421 and following) (governing dis-
closures that could expose confidential Government 
agents); and the statutes which protect against dis-
closures that could compromise national security, in-
cluding sections 641, 793, 794, 798, and 952 of title 
18, United States Code, and section 4(b) of the Sub-
versive Activities Control Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 
783(b)). The definitions, requirements, obligations, 
rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by such Ex-
ecutive order and such statutory provisions are in-
corporated into this agreement and are controlling.’; 
‘‘(13) conduct, or cause to be conducted, an in-
vestigation, other than any ministerial or nondis-
cretionary factfinding activities necessary for the 
agency to perform its mission, of an employee or ap-
plicant for employment because of any activity pro-
tected under this section; or’’. 
SEC. 1266. EXCLUSION OF AGENCIES BY THE PRESIDENT. 
Section 2302(a)(2)(C) of title 5, United States Code, 
is amended by striking clause (ii) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(ii)(I) the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion, the Central Intelligence Agency, the De-
fense 
Intelligence 
Agency, 
the 
National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or the National 
Security Agency; or 
‘‘(II) as determined by the President, any 
Executive agency or unit thereof the principal 
function of which is the conduct of foreign in-
telligence or counterintelligence activities, if the 
determination (as that determination relates to 
a personnel action) is made before that per-
sonnel action; or’’. 
SEC. 1267. DISCIPLINARY ACTION. 
Section 1215(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3)(A) A final order of the Board may impose— 
‘‘(i) disciplinary action consisting of removal, 
reduction in grade, debarment from Federal employ-
ment for a period not to exceed 5 years, suspension, 
or reprimand; 
‘‘(ii) an assessment of a civil penalty not to ex-
ceed $1,000; or 
‘‘(iii) any combination of disciplinary actions 
described under clause (i) and an assessment de-
scribed under clause (ii). 
‘‘(B) In any case in which the Board finds that an 
employee has committed a prohibited personnel practice 
under paragraph (8) or (9) of section 2302(b), the Board
shall impose disciplinary action if the Board finds that the 
activity protected under such paragraph (8) or (9) (as the 
case may be) was the primary motivating factor, unless 
that employee demonstrates, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, that the employee would have taken, failed to 
take, or threatened to take or fail to take the same per-
sonnel action, in the absence of such protected activity.’’. 
SEC. 1268. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY 
ON REVOCATION OF SECURITY CLEARANCES. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Comptroller General shall 
conduct a study of security clearance revocations, taking 
effect after 1996, with respect to personnel that filed 
claims under chapter 12 of title 5, United States Code, 
in connection therewith. The study shall consist of an ex-
amination of the number of such clearances revoked, the 
number restored, and the relationship, if any, between the 
resolution of claims filed under such chapter and the res-
toration of such clearances. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate a report on the results of the study required 
by subsection (a).
SEC. 1269. ALTERNATIVE RECOURSE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1221 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k)(1) If, in the case of an employee, former em-
ployee, or applicant for employment who seeks corrective 
action (or on behalf of whom corrective action is sought) 
from the Merit Systems Protection Board based on an al-
leged prohibited personnel practice described in section 
2302(b)(8) or 2302(b)(9)(B)–(D), no final order or deci-
sion is issued by the Board within 180 days after the date 
on which a request for such corrective action has been duly 
submitted (or, in the event that a final order or decision 
is issued by the Board, whether within that 180-day period 
or thereafter, then, within 90 days after such final order 
or decision is issued, and so long as such employee, former 
employee, or applicant has not filed a petition for judicial 
review of such order or decision under subsection (h))— 
‘‘(A) such employee, former employee, or appli-
cant may, after providing written notice to the 
Board, bring an action at law or equity for de novo 
review in the appropriate United States district 
court, which shall have jurisdiction over such action 
without regard to the amount in controversy, and 
which action shall, at the request of either party to 
such action, be tried by the court with a jury; and
‘‘(B) in any such action, the court— 
‘‘(i) shall apply the standards set forth in 
subsection (e); and 
‘‘(ii) may award any relief which the court 
considers appropriate, including any relief de-
scribed in subsection (g). 
An appeal from a final decision of a district court in an 
action under this paragraph may, at the election of the 
appellant, be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Federal 
Circuit (which shall have jurisdiction of such appeal), in 
lieu of the United States court of appeals for the circuit 
embracing the district in which the action was brought. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘appro-
priate United States district court’, as used with respect 
to an alleged prohibited personnel practice, means the 
United States district court for the district in which the 
prohibited personnel practice is alleged to have been com-
mitted, the judicial district in which the employment 
records relevant to such practice are maintained and ad-
ministered, or the judicial district in which resides the em-
ployee, former employee, or applicant for employment al-
legedly affected by such practice. 
‘‘(3) This subsection applies with respect to any ap-
peal, petition, or other request for corrective action duly 
submitted to the Board, whether pursuant to section
1214(b)(2), the preceding provisions of this section, sec-
tion 7513(d), or any otherwise applicable provisions of 
law, rule, or regulation.’’. 
(b) REVIEW OF MSPB DECISIONS.—Section 7703(b) 
of such title 5 is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘the United States Court of Appeals for the 
Federal Circuit’’ and inserting ‘‘the appropriate 
United States court of appeals’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) For purposes of the first sentence of paragraph 
(1), the term ‘appropriate United States court of appeals’ 
means the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal 
Circuit, except that in the case of a prohibited personnel 
practice 
described 
in 
section 
2302(b)(8) 
or 
2302(b)(9)(B)–(D) (other than a case that, disregarding 
this paragraph, would otherwise be subject to paragraph 
(2)), such term means the United States Court of Appeals 
for the Federal Circuit and any United States court of 
appeals having jurisdiction over appeals from any United 
States district court which, under section 1221(k)(2), 
would be an appropriate United States district court for 
purposes of such prohibited personnel practice.’’. 
(c) 
COMPENSATORY
DAMAGES.—Section 
1221(g)(1)(A)(ii) of such title 5 is amended by striking
all after ‘‘travel expenses,’’ and inserting ‘‘any other rea-
sonable and foreseeable consequential damages, and com-
pensatory damages (including attorney’s fees, interest, 
reasonable expert witness fees, and costs).’’. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 1221(h) of such title 5 is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) Judicial review under this subsection shall not 
be available with respect to any decision or order as to 
which the employee, former employee, or applicant has 
filed a petition for judicial review under subsection (k).’’. 
(2) Section 7703(c) of such title 5 is amended 
by striking ‘‘court.’’ and inserting ‘‘court, and in the 
case of a prohibited personnel practice described in 
section 2302(b)(8) or 2302(b)(9)(B)–(D) brought 
under any provision of law, rule, or regulation de-
scribed in section 1221(k)(3), the employee or appli-
cant shall have the right to de novo review in accord-
ance with section 1221(k).’’. 
SEC. 1270. NATIONAL SECURITY WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 23 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2303 
the following: 
‘‘§ 2303a. National security whistleblower rights 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION OF REPRISALS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any rights 
provided in section 2303 of this title, title VII of 
Public Law 105–272, or any other provision of law, 
an employee or former employee in a covered agency 
may not be discharged, demoted, or otherwise dis-
criminated against (including by denying, sus-
pending, or revoking a security clearance, or by oth-
erwise restricting access to classified or sensitive in-
formation) as a reprisal for making a disclosure de-
scribed in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) DISCLOSURES DESCRIBED.—A disclosure 
described in this paragraph is any disclosure of cov-
ered information which is made— 
‘‘(A) by an employee or former employee in 
a covered agency (without restriction as to time, 
place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure 
made to any person by an employee or former 
employee, including a disclosure made in the 
course of an employee’s duties); and 
‘‘(B) to an authorized Member of Con-
gress, an authorized official of an Executive 
agency, or the Inspector General of the covered 
agency in which such employee or former em-
ployee is or was employed.
‘‘(b) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS.—An employee 
or former employee in a covered agency who believes that 
such employee or former employee has been subjected to 
a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a) may submit a com-
plaint to the Inspector General and the head of the cov-
ered agency. The Inspector General shall investigate the 
complaint and, unless the Inspector General determines 
that the complaint is frivolous, submit a report of the find-
ings of the investigation within 120 days to the employee 
or former employee (as the case may be) and to the head 
of the covered agency. 
‘‘(c) REMEDY.— 
‘‘(1) Within 180 days of the filing of the com-
plaint, the head of the covered agency shall, taking 
into consideration the report of the Inspector Gen-
eral under subsection (b) (if any), determine whether 
the employee or former employee has been subjected 
to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a), and shall 
either issue an order denying relief or shall imple-
ment corrective action to return the employee or 
former employee, as nearly as possible, to the posi-
tion he would have held had the reprisal not oc-
curred, including voiding any directive or order de-
nying, suspending, or revoking a security clearance 
or otherwise restricting access to classified or sen-
sitive information that constituted a reprisal, as well 
as providing back pay and related benefits, medical 
costs incurred, travel expenses, any other reasonable 
and foreseeable consequential damages, and compen-
satory damages (including attorney’s fees, interest, 
reasonable expert witness fees, and costs). If the 
head of the covered agency issues an order denying 
relief, he shall issue a report to the employee or 
former employee detailing the reasons for the denial. 
‘‘(2)(A) If the head of the covered agency, in 
the process of implementing corrective action under 
paragraph (1), voids a directive or order denying, 
suspending, or revoking a security clearance or oth-
erwise restricting access to classified or sensitive in-
formation that constituted a reprisal, the head of the 
covered agency may re-initiate procedures to issue a 
directive or order denying, suspending, or revoking 
a security clearance or otherwise restricting access 
to classified or sensitive information only if those re- 
initiated procedures are based exclusively on national 
security concerns and are unrelated to the actions 
constituting the original reprisal. 
‘‘(B) In any case in which the head of a covered 
agency re-initiates procedures under subparagraph 
(A), the head of the covered agency shall issue an
unclassified report to its Inspector General and to 
authorized Members of Congress (with a classified 
annex, if necessary), detailing the circumstances of 
the agency’s re-initiated procedures and describing 
the manner in which those procedures are based ex-
clusively on national security concerns and are unre-
lated to the actions constituting the original reprisal. 
The head of the covered agency shall also provide 
periodic updates to the Inspector General and au-
thorized Members of Congress detailing any signifi-
cant actions taken as a result of those procedures, 
and shall respond promptly to inquiries from author-
ized Members of Congress regarding the status of 
those procedures. 
‘‘(3) If the head of the covered agency has not 
made a determination under paragraph (1) within 
180 days of the filing of the complaint (or he has 
issued an order denying relief, in whole or in part, 
whether within that 180-day period or thereafter, 
then, within 90 days after such order is issued), the 
employee or former employee may bring an action at 
law or equity for de novo review to seek any correc-
tive action described in paragraph (1) in the appro-
priate United States district court (as defined by 
section 1221(k)(2)), which shall have jurisdiction
over such action without regard to the amount in 
controversy. An appeal from a final decision of a dis-
trict court in an action under this paragraph may, 
at the election of the appellant, be taken to the 
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (which 
shall have jurisdiction of such appeal), in lieu of the 
United States court of appeals for the circuit em-
bracing the district in which the action was brought. 
‘‘(4) An employee or former employee adversely 
affected or aggrieved by an order issued under para-
graph (1), or who seeks review of any corrective ac-
tion determined under paragraph (1), may obtain ju-
dicial review of such order or determination in the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Cir-
cuit or any United States court of appeals having ju-
risdiction over appeals from any United States dis-
trict court which, under section 1221(k)(2), would 
be an appropriate United States district court. No 
petition seeking such review may be filed more than 
60 days after issuance of the order or the deter-
mination to implement corrective action by the head 
of the agency. Review shall conform to chapter 7. 
‘‘(5)(A) If, in any action for damages or relief 
under paragraph (3) or (4), an Executive agency 
moves to withhold information from discovery based
on a claim that disclosure would be inimical to na-
tional security by asserting the privilege commonly 
referred to as the ‘state secrets privilege’, and if the 
assertion of such privilege prevents the employee or 
former employee from establishing an element in 
support of the employee’s or former employee’s 
claim, the court shall resolve the disputed issue of 
fact or law in favor of the employee or former em-
ployee, provided that an Inspector General investiga-
tion under subsection (b) has resulted in substantial 
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 in 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)) which consists in whole 
or in part of classified or sensitive information, be entitled 
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) of this section or to 
modify or derogate 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 Follette 
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.—For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘covered information’, as used 
with respect to an employee or former employee, 
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, 
the Office of the Director of National Intel-
ligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, the 
Defense Intelligence Agency, the National 
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Se-
curity Agency, and the National Reconnaissance 
Office; and 
‘‘(B) any other Executive agency, or ele-
ment or unit thereof, determined by the Presi-
dent under section 2302(a)(2)(C)(ii)(II) to have 
as its principal function the conduct of foreign 
intelligence or counterintelligence activities; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘authorized Member of Congress’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) with respect to covered information 
about sources and methods of the Central Intel-
ligence Agency, the Director of National Intel-
ligence, and the National Intelligence Program 
(as defined in section 3(6) of the National Se-
curity Act of 1947), a member of the House 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, or 
any other committees of the House of Rep-
resentatives or Senate to which this type of in-
formation 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 House Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Select 
Committee on Intelligence, the House Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs, or any other com-
mittees of the House of Representatives or the 
Senate that have oversight over the program 
which the covered information concerns; and 
‘‘(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-
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. 1271. ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE 
WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 
(a) CIVILIAN AGENCY CONTRACTS.—Section 315(c) 
of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act 
of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 265(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘If the head’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘actions:’’ and inserting 
the following: ‘‘Not later than 180 days after sub-
mission of a complaint under subsection (b), the 
head of the executive agency concerned shall deter-
mine whether the contractor concerned has subjected 
the complainant to a reprisal prohibited by sub-
section (a) and shall either issue an order denying 
relief or shall take one or more of the following ac-
tions:’’; and 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4) and adding after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing new paragraph (3): 
‘‘(3) If the head of an executive agency has not issued 
an order within 180 days after the submission of a com-
plaint under subsection (b) 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 his admin-
istrative remedies with respect to the complaint, and the 
complainant may bring an action at law or equity for de 
novo review to seek compensatory damages and other re-
lief 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 con-
troversy, and which action shall, at the request of either 
party to such action, be tried by the court with a jury.’’. 
(b) ARMED SERVICES CONTRACTS.—Section 2409(c) 
of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘If the head’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘actions:’’ and inserting 
the following: ‘‘Not later than 180 days after sub-
mission of a complaint under subsection (b), the 
head of the agency concerned shall determine wheth-
er the contractor concerned has subjected the com-
plainant 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:’’; and 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4) and adding after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing new paragraph (3): 
‘‘(3) If the head of an agency has not issued an order 
within 180 days after the submission of a complaint under 
subsection (b) 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 his administrative rem-
edies with respect to the complaint, and the complainant
may bring an action at law or equity for de novo review 
to seek compensatory 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, and 
which action shall, at the request of either party to such 
action, be tried by the court with a jury.’’. 
SEC. 1272. PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES AFFECT-
ING THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY AD-
MINISTRATION. 
(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 1270) the following: 
‘‘§ 2304. Prohibited personnel practices affecting the 
Transportation Security Administration 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, any individual holding or applying for a posi-
tion within the Transportation Security Administration 
shall be covered by— 
‘‘(1) the provisions of section 2302(b)(1), (8), 
and (9);
‘‘(2) any provision of law implementing section 
2302(b)(1), (8), or (9) by providing any right or 
remedy available to an employee or applicant for em-
ployment 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.’’.
SEC. 1273. CLARIFICATION OF WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS 
RELATING TO SCIENTIFIC AND OTHER RE-
SEARCH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302 of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(f) As used in section 2302(b)(8), the term ‘abuse 
of authority’ includes— 
‘‘(1) any action that compromises the validity 
or accuracy of federally funded research or analysis; 
‘‘(2) the dissemination of false or misleading 
scientific, medical, or technical information; 
‘‘(3) any action that restricts or prevents an 
employee or any person performing federally funded 
research or analysis from publishing in peer-reviewed 
journals or other scientific publications or making 
oral presentations at professional society meetings or 
other meetings of their peers; and 
‘‘(4) any action that discriminates for or 
against any employee or applicant for employment 
on the basis of religion, as defined by section 
1273(b) of the Whistleblower Protection Enhance-
ment Act of 2009.’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—As used in section 2302(f)(3) of 
title 5, United States Code (as amended by subsection 
(a)), the term ‘‘on the basis of religion’’ means—
(1) prohibiting personal religious expression by 
Federal employees to the greatest extent possible, 
consistent with requirements of law and interests in 
workplace efficiency; 
(2) requiring religious participation or non-par-
ticipation as a condition of employment, or permit-
ting religious harassment; 
(3) failing to accommodate employees’ exercise 
of their religion; 
(4) failing to treat all employees with the same 
respect and consideration, regardless of their religion 
(or lack thereof); 
(5) restricting personal religious expression by 
employees in the Federal workplace except where the 
employee’s interest in the expression is outweighed 
by the government’s interest in the efficient provi-
sion of public services or where the expression in-
trudes upon the legitimate rights of other employees 
or creates the appearance, to a reasonable observer, 
of an official endorsement of religion; 
(6) regulating employees’ personal religious ex-
pression on the basis of its content or viewpoint, or 
suppressing employees’ private religious speech in 
the workplace while leaving unregulated other pri-
vate employee speech that has a comparable effect
on the efficiency of the workplace, including ideolog-
ical speech on politics and other topics; 
(7) failing to exercise their authority in an 
evenhanded and restrained manner, and with regard 
for the fact that Americans are used to expressions 
of disagreement on controversial subjects, including 
religious ones; 
(8) failing to permit an employee to engage in 
private religious expression in personal work areas 
not regularly open to the public to the same extent 
that they may engage in nonreligious private expres-
sion, subject to reasonable content- and viewpoint- 
neutral standards and restrictions; 
(9) failing to permit an employee to engage in 
religious expression with fellow employees, to the 
same extent that they may engage in comparable 
nonreligious private expression, subject to reasonable 
and content-neutral standards and restrictions; 
(10) failing to permit an employee to engage in 
religious expression directed at fellow employees, and 
may even attempt to persuade fellow employees of 
the correctness of their religious views, to the same 
extent as those employees may engage in comparable 
speech not involving religion;
(11) inhibiting an employee from urging a col-
league to participate or not to participate in reli-
gious activities to the same extent that, consistent 
with concerns of workplace efficiency, they may urge 
their colleagues to engage in or refrain from other 
personal endeavors, except that the employee must 
refrain from such expression when a fellow employee 
asks that it stop or otherwise demonstrates that it 
is unwelcome; 
(12) failing to prohibit expression that is part 
of a larger pattern of verbal attacks on fellow em-
ployees (or a specific employee) not sharing the faith 
of the speaker; 
(13) preventing an employee from— 
(A) wearing personal religious jewelry ab-
sent special circumstances (such as safety con-
cerns) that might require a ban on all similar 
nonreligious jewelry; or 
(B) displaying religious art and literature 
in their personal work areas to the same extent 
that they may display other art and literature, 
so long as the viewing public would reasonably 
understand the religious expression to be that 
of the employee acting in her personal capacity, 
and not that of the government itself;
(14) prohibiting an employee from using their 
private time to discuss religion with willing cowork-
ers in public spaces to the same extent as they may 
discuss other subjects, so long as the public would 
reasonably understand the religious expression to be 
that of the employees acting in their personal capac-
ities; 
(15) discriminating against an employee on the 
basis of their religion, religious beliefs, or views con-
cerning their religion by promoting, refusing to pro-
mote, hiring, refusing to hire, or otherwise favoring 
or disfavoring, an employee or potential employee 
because of his or her religion, religious beliefs, or 
views concerning religion, or by explicitly or implic-
itly, insisting that the employee participate in reli-
gious activities as a condition of continued employ-
ment, promotion, salary increases, preferred job as-
signments, or any other incidents of employment or 
insisting that an employee refrain from participating 
in religious activities outside the workplace except 
pursuant to otherwise legal, neutral restrictions that 
apply to employees’ off-duty conduct and expression 
in general (such as restrictions on political activities 
prohibited by the Hatch Act);
(16) prohibiting a supervisor’s religious expres-
sion where it is not coercive and is understood to be 
his or her personal view, in the same way and to the 
same extent as other constitutionally valued speech; 
(17) permitting a hostile environment, or reli-
gious harassment, in the form of religiously discrimi-
natory intimidation, or pervasive or severe religious 
ridicule or insult, whether by supervisors or fellow 
workers, as determined by its frequency or repet-
itiveness, and severity; 
(18) failing to accommodate an employee’s exer-
cise of their religion unless such accommodation 
would impose an undue hardship on the conduct of 
the agency’s operations, based on real rather than 
speculative 
or 
hypothetical 
cost 
and 
without 
disfavoring other, nonreligious accommodations; and 
(19) in those cases where an agency’s work rule 
imposes a substantial burden on a particular em-
ployee’s exercise of religion, failing to grant the em-
ployee an exemption from that rule, absent a com-
pelling interest in denying the exemption and where 
there is no less restrictive means of furthering that 
interest. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to create any new right, benefit,
or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforce-
able at law or equity by a party against the United States, 
its agencies, its officers, or any person. 
SEC. 1274. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This part shall take effect 30 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, except as provided in the 
amendment made by section 1272(a)(2). 
TITLE II—AGRICULTURE, NUTRI-
TION, AND RURAL DEVELOP-
MENT 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
AGRICULTURE BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES AND RENTAL 
PAYMENTS 
For an additional amount for ‘‘Agriculture Buildings 
and Facilities and Rental Payments’’, $44,000,000, for 
necessary construction, repair, and improvement activities: 
Provided, That section 1106 of this Act shall not apply 
to this appropriation. 
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE 
BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES 
For an additional amount for ‘‘Buildings and Facili-
ties’’, $209,000,000, for work on deferred maintenance at 
Agricultural Research Service facilities: Provided, That 
priority in the use of such funds shall be given to critical 
deferred maintenance, to projects that can be completed,
and to activities that can commence promptly following 
enactment of this Act. 
FARM SERVICE AGENCY 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES 
For an additional amount for ‘‘Salaries and Ex-
penses,’’ $245,000,000, for the purpose of maintaining 
and modernizing the information technology system: Pro-
vided, That section 1106 of this Act shall not apply to 
this appropriation. 
NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE 
WATERSHED AND FLOOD PREVENTION OPERATIONS 
For an additional amount for ‘‘Watershed and Flood 
Prevention 
Operations’’, 
$350,000,000, 
of 
which 
$175,000,000 is for necessary expenses to purchase and 
restore floodplain easements as authorized by section 403 
of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) 
(except that no more than $50,000,000 of the amount pro-
vided for the purchase of floodplain easements may be ob-
ligated for projects in any one State): Provided, That sec-
tion 1106 of this Act shall not apply to this appropriation: 
Provided further, That priority in the use of such funds 
shall be given to projects that can be fully funded and 
completed with the funds appropriated in this Act, and 
to activities that can commence promptly following enact-
ment of this Act.
WATERSHED REHABILITATION PROGRAM 
For an additional amount for ‘‘Watershed Rehabilita-
tion Program’’, $50,000,000, for necessary expenses to 
carry out rehabilitation of structural measures: Provided, 
That section 1106 of this Act shall not apply to this ap-
propriation: Provided further, That priority in the use of 
such funds shall be given to projects that can be fully 
funded and completed with the funds appropriated in this 
Act, and to activities that can commence promptly fol-
lowing enactment of this Act. 
RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 
RURAL COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM 
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS) 
For an additional amount for gross obligations for 
the principal amount of direct and guaranteed loans as 
authorized by sections 306 and 310B and described in sec-
tions 381E(d)(1), 381E(d)(2), and 381E(d)(3) of the 
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, to be 
available from the rural community advancement pro-
gram, 
as 
follows: 
$5,838,000,000, 
of 
which 
$1,102,000,000 is for rural community facilities direct 
loans, of which $2,000,000,000 is for business and indus-
try guaranteed loans, and of which $2,736,000,000 is for 
rural water and waste disposal direct loans.
For an additional amount for the cost of direct loans, 
loan guarantees, and grants, including the cost of modi-
fying loans, as defined in section 502 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974, as follows: $1,800,000,000, of which 
$63,000,000 is for rural community facilities direct loans, 
of which $137,000,000 is for rural community facilities 
grants authorized under section 306(a) of the Consoli-
dated Farm and Rural Development Act, of which 
$87,000,000 is for business and industry guaranteed 
loans, of which $13,000,000 is for rural business enter-
prise grants authorized under section 310B of the Consoli-
dated Farm and Rural Development Act, of which 
$400,000,000 is for rural water and waste disposal direct 
loans, and of which $1,100,000,000 is for rural water and 
waste disposal grants authorized under section 306(a): 
Provided, That the amounts appropriated under this head-
ing shall be transferred to, and merged with, the appro-
priation for ‘‘Rural Housing Service, Rural Community 
Facilities Program Account’’, the appropriation for 
‘‘Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Rural Business Pro-
gram Account’’, and the appropriation for ‘‘Rural Utilities 
Service, Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Ac-
count’’: Provided further, That priority for awarding such 
funds shall be given to project applications that dem-
onstrate that, if the application is approved, all project
elements will be fully funded: Provided further, That pri-
ority for awarding such funds shall be given to project ap-
plications for activities that can be completed if the re-
quested funds are provided: Provided further, That priority 
for awarding such funds shall be given to activities that 
can commence promptly following enactment of this Act. 
In addition to other available funds, the Secretary of 
Agriculture may use not more than 3 percent of the funds 
made available under this account for administrative costs 
to carry out loans, loan guarantees, and grants funded 
under this account, which shall be transferred and merged 
with the appropriation for ‘‘Rural Development, Salaries 
and Expenses’’ and shall remain available until September 
30, 2012: Provided, That the authority provided in this 
paragraph shall apply to appropriations under this head-
ing in lieu of the provisions of section 1106 of this Act. 
Funds appropriated by this Act to the Rural Commu-
nity Advancement Program for rural community facilities, 
rural business, and rural water and waste disposal direct 
loans, loan guarantees and grants may be transferred 
among these programs: Provided, That the Committees on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate shall be notified at least 15 days in advance of 
any transfer.
RURAL HOUSING SERVICE 
RURAL HOUSING INSURANCE FUND PROGRAM ACCOUNT 
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS) 
For an additional amount of gross obligations for the 
principal amount of direct and guaranteed loans as au-
thorized by title V of the Housing Act of 1949, to be avail-
able from funds in the rural housing insurance fund, as 
follows: $22,129,000,000 for loans to section 502 bor-
rowers, of which $4,018,000,000 shall be for direct loans, 
and of which $18,111,000,000 shall be for unsubsidized 
guaranteed loans. 
For an additional amount for the cost of direct and 
guaranteed loans, including the cost of modifying loans, 
as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, as follows: section 502 loans, $500,000,000, of 
which $270,000,000 shall be for direct loans, and of which 
$230,000,000 shall be for unsubsidized guaranteed loans. 
In addition to other available funds, the Secretary of 
Agriculture may use not more than 3 percent of the funds 
made available under this account for administrative costs 
to carry out loans and loan guarantees funded under this 
account, of which $1,750,000 will be committed to agency 
projects associated with maintaining the compliance, safe-
ty, and soundness of the portfolio of loans guaranteed 
through the section 502 guaranteed loan program: Pro-