H.R. 5578

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5578 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5578

To ensure that whistleblowers, including contractors, are protected 
from retaliation when a Federal employee orders a reprisal, and for 
other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 26, 2025

Mr. Garcia of California (for himself and Mr. Comer) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To ensure that whistleblowers, including contractors, are protected 
from retaliation when a Federal employee orders a reprisal, and for 
other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Whistleblower Protections 
for Contractors Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFENSE CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES: PROTECTION FROM REPRISAL FOR 
DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.

Section 4701 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A)--
(I) by striking ``An employee'' and 
all that follows through ``services 
contractor'' and inserting ``A 
protected individual''; and
(II) by striking ``disclosing'' and 
all that follows through ``evidence 
of''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B), 
and (C) and inserting the following 
subparagraphs:
``(A) Refusing to obey an order that would require the 
protected individual to violate a law, rule, or regulation 
related to any contract, subcontract, grant, or subgrant.
``(B) Disclosing to a person or body described in paragraph 
(2) information that the protected individual reasonably 
believes is evidence of the following:
``(i) Gross mismanagement of any Department of 
Defense contract or grant, any gross waste of 
Department funds, any abuse of authority relating to 
any Department contract, subcontract, grant, or 
subgrant, or any violation of law, rule, or regulation 
related to any Department contract or subcontract 
(including the competition for or negotiation of a 
contract or subcontract) or grant or subgrant.
``(ii) Gross mismanagement of any National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration contract or grant, 
any gross waste of Administration funds, any abuse of 
authority relating to an Administration contract, 
subcontract, grant, or subgrant, or any violation of 
law, rule, or regulation related to any Administration 
contract or subcontract (including the competition for 
or negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or grant 
or subgrant.
``(iii) A substantial and specific danger to public 
health or safety.''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``an 
employee'' and inserting ``a protected 
individual''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
inserting the following subparagraph:
``(B) it shall not be within the authority of an executive 
branch official to request that a contractor, subcontractor, 
grantee, or subgrantee engage in a reprisal prohibited by 
paragraph (1).'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 
following subparagraph:
``(E) Propose appropriate disciplinary action against any 
executive branch official for any request made of a contractor, 
subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee that subjected the 
complainant to a reprisal prohibited by subsection (a).''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 
following paragraph:
``(7) Clarification for Scope of Waiver Restrictions.--The rights, 
forum, and remedies provided for in this section may not be waived by 
any public or private agreement, policy, form, or condition of 
employment, including by any predispute arbitration agreement.'';
(3) by striking subsection (e) and redesignating 
subsections (f) and (g) as subsections (e) and (f), 
respectively;
(4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``an employee'' and inserting ``a 
protected individual''; and
(B) by striking ``the employee'' and inserting 
``the protected individual''; and
(5) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
``(8) The term `protected individual' means--
``(A) a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or 
subgrantee of the Department of Defense or the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration, including--
``(i) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian 
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other 
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political 
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality 
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) an element of the intelligence 
community (as defined in section 3 of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)) 
within the Department of Defense;
``(B) an employee of a contractor, subcontractor, 
grantee, or subgrantee of the Department of Defense or 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or a 
former employee of such contractor, subcontractor, 
grantee, or subgrantee whose protected disclosure or 
engagement in any activity protected against reprisal 
under this section occurred prior to termination, 
including an employee of--
``(i) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian 
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other 
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political 
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality 
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) an element of the intelligence 
community (as defined in section 3 of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)) 
within the Department of Defense; or
``(C) a person performing personal services for the 
Department of Defense or the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration pursuant to a contractual 
agreement for the performance of personal services, 
including a personal services contract or personal 
services agreement, and who engages in an activity for 
which any reprisal is prohibited under subsection (a), 
including a person performing personal services 
pursuant such a contractual agreement for--
``(i) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian 
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other 
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political 
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality 
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) an element of the intelligence 
community (as defined in section 3 of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)) 
within the Department of Defense.''.

SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF NON-DEFENSE CONTRACTOR PROTECTION FROM REPRISAL 
FOR DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.

Section 4712 of title 41, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
following paragraph:
``(1) In general.--A protected individual may not be 
discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against as a 
reprisal for the following:
``(A) Refusing to obey an order that would require 
the protected individual to violate a law, rule, or 
regulation related to any contract, subcontract, grant, 
or subgrant.
``(B) Disclosing to a person or body described in 
paragraph (2) information that the protected individual 
reasonably believes is evidence of the following:
``(i) Gross mismanagement of any Federal 
contract or grant, any gross waste of Federal 
funds, any abuse of authority relating to any 
Federal contract, subcontract, grant, or 
subgrant, or any violation of law, rule, or 
regulation related to any Federal contract or 
subcontract (including the competition for or 
negotiation of a contract or subcontract) or 
grant or subgrant.
``(ii) A substantial and specific danger to 
public health or safety.''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``an 
employee'' and inserting ``a protected 
individual''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
inserting the following subparagraph:
``(B) it shall not be within the authority of an 
executive branch official to request that a contractor, 
subcontractor, grantee, or subgrantee engage in a 
reprisal prohibited by paragraph (1).'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph:
``(E) Propose appropriate disciplinary action 
against any executive branch official for any request 
made of a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or 
subgrantee that subjected the complainant to a reprisal 
prohibited by subsection (a).''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 
following paragraph:
``(7) Rights, forum, and remedies not waivable.--The 
rights, forum, and remedies provided for in this section may 
not be waived by any public or private agreement, policy, form, 
or condition of employment, including by any predispute 
arbitration agreement.'';
(3) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``an employee'' and inserting ``a 
protected individual''; and
(B) by striking ``the employee'' and inserting 
``the protected individual'';
(4) by striking subsection (f) and redesignating 
subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g), 
respectively; and
(5) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by inserting 
after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph:
``(3) The term `protected individual' means--
``(A) a contractor, subcontractor, grantee, or 
subgrantee of the Federal Government, including--
``(i) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian 
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other 
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political 
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality 
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) an element of the intelligence 
community (as defined in section 3 of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
3003));
``(B) an employee of a contractor, subcontractor, 
grantee, or subgrantee of the Federal Government or a 
former employee of such contractor, subcontractor, 
grantee, or subgrantee whose protected disclosure or 
engagement in any activity protected against reprisal 
under this section occurred prior to termination, 
including an employee of--
``(i) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian 
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other 
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political 
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality 
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) an element of the intelligence 
community (as defined in section 3 of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
3003)); or
``(C) a person performing personal services for the 
Federal Government pursuant to a contractual agreement 
for the performance of personal services, including a 
personal services contract or personal services 
agreement, including a person performing personal 
services pursuant to such a contractual agreement for--
``(i) the government of each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, an Indian 
tribe or authorized tribal organization, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other 
territory or possession of the United States;
``(ii) the government of any political 
subdivision of, agency of, or instrumentality 
of, a government listed in clause (i); and
``(iii) an element of the intelligence 
community (as defined in section 3 of the 
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
3003)).''.
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