Bill would extend civilian contractor whistleblower protections
New legislation would protect personal service contractors and subcontractors who report waste, fraud and abuse.
A bipartisan group of House legislators wants to give federal contractors who report waste, fraud and abuse more protection from retaliation.
The Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act would expand whistleblower protections to federal contractors and grantees. Its sponsors include Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, respectively.
The bill would put whistleblowing protections for federal civilian contractors on the same level as existing protections for defense contractors by making temporary civilian whistleblowing programs permanent. It would also extend the same protections to contractors working on both civilian and defense contracts and to subcontractors and personal service contractors.
The bill is the House companion to legislation introduced in the Senate in 2015 by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).