Another Try Coming on Whistleblower Rights

House leaders have said they will make another attempt in the weeks ahead to move a proposal for expanded whistleblower protections for federal employees (HR-1507). The measure would expand the types of disclosures that are protected from retaliation, expand protections for employees of national security agencies, and expand employee rights to court appeals, among other changes. The House accepted similar language as an amendment to the economic stimulus bill earlier this year but the provisions were dropped in a conference with the Senate. Similar proposals have been pending in Congress for years but did not reach enactment because of opposition by the Bush administration to a number of features, in particular the provisions affecting national security agencies.