Legislation newly introduced in the House (HR-4650) by Rep. Al Wynn, D-Md., seeks to strengthen protections for federal employee whistleblowers by giving them the option of taking retaliation complaints directly to federal court rather than through the administrative process. The measure also triples the amount of damages that can be awarded to employees who win their complaints as well as the attorneys fees that can be awarded. It also allows whistleblowers to seek representation by the Office of Special Counsel and requires agencies to disclose how much they spend defending against retaliation claims. The House and Senate each passed bills last year also designed to strengthen whistleblower protections, although differences remain to be worked out and the White House opposes some of the provisions.