SEC. 4. PROHIBITED REGULATORY PRACTICES.
(a) For purposes of this Act, ‘‘prohibited regulatory
practice’’ means any action described in subsection (b)(i),
(ii), or (iii) of this section.
(b)(1) No employee of an Agency who has author-
ity—
(A) to take or direct other employees to take,
(B) to recommend, or
(C) to approve,
any regulatory action shall—
(i) take or fail to take, or threaten to take or
fail to take,
(ii) recommend or direct that others take or fail
to take, or threaten to so recommend or direct, or
(iii) approve the taking or failing to take, or
threaten to so approve,
such regulatory action because of any disclosure by a per-
son subject to the action, or by any other person, of infor-
mation that the person believed indicative of—
(I) violation or inconsistent application of any
law, rule, regulation, policy, or internal standard;
(II) arbitrary action or other abuse of author-
ity;
(III) mismanagement;
(IV) Waste or misallocation of resources;
(V) Inconsistent, discriminatory or dispropor-
tionate enforcement;
(VI) endangerment of public health or safety;
(VII personal favoritism; or
(VIII) coercion for partisan political purposes;
by any agency or its employees.
(2) An action shall be deemed to have been taken,
not taken, approved, or recommended because of the dis-
closure of information within the meaning of paragraph
(1) if the disclosure of information was a contributing fac-
tor to the decision to take, not to take, to approve, or to
recommend.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITED REGULATORY PRACTICE AS A DE-
FENSE TO AGENCY ACTION.
(a) In any administrative or judicial action or pro-
ceeding, formal or informal, by an agency to create, apply
or enforce any obligation, duty or liability under any law,
rule or regulation against any person, the person may as-
sert as a defense that the agency or one or more employees
of the agency have engaged in a prohibited regulatory
practice with respect to the person or to a related entity
in connection with the action or proceeding.
(b) If the existence of a prohibited regulatory practice
is established, the person may be required to comply with
the obligation, duty or liability to the extent compliance
is required of and enforced against other persons similarly
situated, but no penalty, fine, damages, costs or other obli-
gation except compliance shall be imposed on the person.
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Any agency, and any employee of an agency, en-
gaging in a prohibited regulatory practice may be assessed
a civil penalty of not more than $25,000 for each such
practice. In the case of a continuing prohibited regulatory
practice, each day that the practice continues shall be
deemed a separate practice.
(b) The President shall, by regulation, establish pro-
cedures providing for the administrative enforcement of
the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.
SEC. 7. CITIZEN SUITS.
(a) Any person injured or threatened by a prohibited
regulatory practice may commence a civil action on his
own behalf against any person or agency alleged to have
engaged in or threatened to engage in such practice.
(b) Any action under subsection (a) of this section
shall be brought in the district court for any district in
which the alleged prohibited regulatory practice occurred
or in which the alleged injury occurred. The district court
shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the amount in
controversy or the citizenship of the parties, to—
(1) restrain any agency or person who has en-
gaged or is engaging in any prohibited regulatory
practice;
(2) order the cancellation or remission of any
penalty, fine, damages, or other monetary assess-
ment that resulted from a prohibited regulatory
practice;
(3) order the rescission of any settlement that
resulted from a prohibited regulatory practice;
(4) order the issuance of any permit or license
that has been denied or delayed as a result of a pro-
hibited regulatory practice;
(5) order the agency and/or the employee en-
gaging in a prohibited regulatory practice to pay to
the injured person such damages as may be nec-
essary to compensate the person for any harm re-
sulting from the practice, including damages for—
(A) injury to, deterioration of, or destruc-
tion of real or personal property;
(B) 
loss 
of 
profits 
from 
idle 
or
underutilized resources, and from business for-
gone;
(C) costs incurred, including costs of com-
pliance where appropriate;
(D) loss in value of a business;
(E) reasonable legal, consulting and expert
witness fees; or
(F) payments to third parties;
(6) order the payment of punitive damages, in
an amount not to exceed $25,000 for each such pro-
hibited regulatory practice, provided that, in the case
of a continuing prohibited regulatory practice, each
day that the practice continues shall be deemed a
separate practice.
SEC. 8. OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL COUNSEL.
(a) Any person who has reason to believe that any
employee of any agency has engaged in a prohibited regu-
latory practice may request the Special Counsel estab-
lished by section 1211 of title 5, United States Code, to
investigate.
(b) The Special Counsel shall have the same power
to investigate prohibited regulatory practices that it has
to investigate prohibited personnel practices pursuant to
section 1212 of title 5, United States Code.
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