S. 4476 · 116th Congress
Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2020
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
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FeinsteinSponsor16 cosponsors · 16 D
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Baldwin
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Blumenthal
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Cardin
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Carper
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Cortez Masto
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Durbin
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Hirono
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Klobuchar
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Leahy
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Markey
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Peters
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Van Hollen
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Wyden
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Whitehouse
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Warner
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Heinrich15 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill creates certain administrative and judicial remedies for federal employees whose right to provide information to Congress is interfered with or denied.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Aug 6, 2020
Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2020
This bill creates certain administrative and judicial remedies for federal employees whose right to provide information to Congress is interfered with or denied.
Under current law, federal employees have the right to petition or furnish information to Congress or to individual Members of Congress, and this right may not be interfered with or denied. The bill explicitly allows employees who are aggrieved by a violation of this right to seek administrative remedies that are currently available to whistleblowers who are fired or experience other forms of retaliation. The bill also establishes a private right of action for aggrieved employees, including the option of a jury trial, if an administrative remedy is not issued within 210 days of a complaint being made.
The bill applies to employees and contractors of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, including members of the intelligence community.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2020
Latest action (Aug 6, 2020): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Aug 6, 2020
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.