By Lightspring / Shutterstock.com

Intelligence Bill Would Enhance Whistleblower Protections

New language would “harmonize” procedures seen as confusing.

Among the many items on Congress’s crowded July agenda is floor action on a three-year catch-up on the Intelligence Community authorization bill, a largely bipartisan package drafted in both chambers, with Senate provisions that would enhance protections for whistleblowers.

On June 26, the House Select Intelligence Committee by voice vote cleared its version (H.R. 3494) of what is called the Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act (named for two recently deceased congressional staffers), following similar bipartisan approval of S. 1589 by the Senate Intelligence panel in May.

The usual panoply of issues includes requiring the CIA to investigate Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections, codifying a recent reorganization of the security clearance process, enhancing the Intelligence Community inspector general’s oversight through greater consistency and an appeals process, enhancing career path flexibility and benefits for cybersecurity experts and providing paid parental leave for the civilian workforce.

The bills—which combine texts for fiscal 2018, 2019 and 2020—also aim to protect the government’s technology supply chain by creating a task force within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and improving procurement to defend against intrusion.

Both bills would require an unclassified report identifying those who carried out, ordered or were complicit in the death of U.S.-based Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in Istanbul.

The House version authorizes funding at roughly 1.4% above President Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget request. However, said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., “it rejects the administration’s misguided use of Overseas Contingency Operations funding as a budget gimmick to evade existing budget caps put in place on a bipartisan basis by Congress, and it authorizes in the base budget those programs the Administration has explicitly identified as ‘OCO for base.’ ”

The Senate version “is vital for countering the growing threats posed by hostile foreign actors, including Russia, China and Iran, and for strengthening our nation’s election security,” said Senate Chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who filed an accompanying written report on June 11, weeks after his committee’s approval. “It also invests in the future of the Intelligence Community by improving personnel retention and recruitment, ensuring we have the best and brightest working to keep America safe.”

Ranking member Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., praised its “provisions aimed at deterring foreign influence in our elections, tackling the technological threats from China as the U.S. and other nations move to 5G communications, revamping our outdated security clearance process, and enabling the IC to exchange talent with the private sector.”

At the request of the CIA, the Senate version would expand the definition of “covert agents” to include those unnamed employees who serve domestically (those serving overseas have long had protections for their identities). Some critics worry that the expanded definition would limit the agency’s accountability. “The expanded definition, if enacted, would likely imply increased withholding of historical and other intelligence records under the Freedom of Information Act,” wrote secrecy blogger Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists.

The whistleblower provisions in the Senate version will be the subject of a House-Senate conference after floor action. “No later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this act,” the Senate version said, “the inspector general of the Intelligence Community, in consultation with the Intelligence Community Inspectors General Forum, shall complete a feasibility study on establishing a hotline whereby all complaints of whistleblowers relating to the intelligence community are automatically referred to the inspector general of the Intelligence Community.”

Many whistleblower provisions were championed by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. One would codify an appeals process for those in the IC who disclose verified waste, fraud and abuse. The Senate version would require “harmonization of whistleblower processes and procedures” across the Intel Community to maximize transparency and protections. In addition, the bill would seek to improve oversight, Wyden said, by allowing the IC watchdog to “track whistleblower complaints and ensure that policies are in place that assure that investigations are conducted and whistleblowers are protected from reprisals.” Whistleblowers themselves would gain access to attorneys with security clearances.

Those proposed reforms were welcomed by Dan Meyer, the former whistleblower ombudsman for the Intelligence Community now a law partner with Tully Rinckey in Washington.

The codified appeals process for whistleblowers who faced retaliation “would not have been required of the Congress had the inspectors general of the intelligence community performed their duties under the president’s directive these past five years,” he told Government Executive,  recommending that the IC create an administrative entity along the lines of the Merit Systems Protection Board. “The inspectors general have failed in the larger role, they can now be consigned to the lesser fact-finding role with which they feel more comfortable.”

The “harmonization” of the disparate whistleblower procedures,” said Meyer, who was removed from his post in 2018, is needed because “the post-911 intelligence reforms, as shown by intelligence community whistleblowing, is backsliding into the stovepipes and silos that existed prior to 9/11. Congress can now use the IAA to promote the true integration” stressed by previous Director James Clapper.

The Government Accountability Project, which has represented hundreds of whistleblowers, will pay close attention to the floor votes and coming House-Senate conference. “I’d call the whistleblower provisions inside this year's Senate's Intelligence Authorization Act a 'must-pass,’ ” Irvin McCullough, GAP’s national security analyst, told Government Executive. “We’ve consistently seen watchdogs betray the whistleblowers they’re entrusted to protect. These largely technical sections ensure stronger whistleblower protections and greater oversight over the watchdogs who enforce them.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.