House Panel Clears Expanded OSC Access to Protect Whistleblowers

In a bipartisan move to beef up whistleblower protections, a House panel on Tuesday approved a trio of bills to expand Office of Special Counsel access to personnel files and ensure whistleblowers have broader access to courts.

Whistleblower advocates welcomed the move.

“Passing these bipartisan bills illustrates our commitment to protecting a whistleblower's right to report information," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "Whistleblowers must be protected. Period. Their courageous efforts keep the federal government open and honest.”

Ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said, "These bills send a strong message that we have the backs of whistleblowers.” Cummings added that he introduced H.R. 2229,  “the All Circuit Review Act, to ensure that whistleblowers who live outside Washington have the same rights as those who live here.”

His bill would make permanent a pilot provision in the 2012 Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act that allows whistleblowers to appeal cases from the Merit Systems Protection Board to any circuit court of appeals with jurisdiction; and give the Office of Personnel Management authority to file petitions for court review of MSPB orders.

Cummings joined with Reps. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., and Steve Russell, D-Okla., on H.R. 2196, which would allow whistleblowers covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act to make disclosures of classified information to any supervisors "in the employee's direct chain of command up to and including the head of the employing agency." 

The panel also approved the OSC Access Act (H.R. 2195), introduced by Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, along with Chaffetz, Cummings and others of both parties and the House Whistleblower Protection Caucus. It would clarify Congress' intent that the Office of Special Counsel has authority to obtain all relevant information from agencies under its jurisdiction.

The bill stipulates that "a claim of common law privilege by an agency, shall not prevent the OSC from obtaining any material;” and that an agency “does not waive the right to assert common law privileges against non-federal entities or individuals by providing information to the OSC.”

Liz Hempowicz, policy counsel for the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight, told Government Executive that her group supports all three bills and is pleased by the bipartisanship in advancing them. “POGO submitted a letter supporting the All Circuit Review Act, which Ranking Member Cummings read into the record,” she said. “Expanding disclosure options, clearing the way for the Office of Special Counsel to access the information to fulfill its mission, and permanently codifying the right for whistleblowers to appeal MSPB cases in any circuit court with jurisdiction will all improve the landscape for whistleblowers going forward.”