CLARIFICATION AND SIMPLIFICATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF INSPECTORS GENERAL REGARDING WHISTLE BLOWER PROTECTIONS.

SEC. 933. CLARIFICATION AND SIMPLIFICATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF INSPECTORS GENERAL REGARDING WHISTLE BLOWER PROTECTIONS. (a) Roles of Inspectors General of the Armed Forces.— (1) subsection (c) of section 1034 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (A) by striking out paragraph (1) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(1) If a member of the armed forces submits to an Inspector General an allegation that a personnel action prohibited by subsection (b) has been taken (or threatened) against the member with respect to a communication described in paragraph (2), the Inspector General shall take the action required under paragraph (3).”; and (B) by striking out paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(3) (A) An Inspector General receiving an allegation as described in paragraph (1) shall expeditiously determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation of the allegation. “(B) If the Inspector General receiving such an allegation is an Inspector General within a military department, that Inspector General shall promptly notify the Inspector General of the Department of Defense of the allegation. Such notification shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed under subsection (h). “(C) If an allegation under paragraph (1) is submitted to an Inspector General within a military department and if the determination of that Inspector General under subparagraph (A) is that there is not sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation of the allegation, that Inspector General shall forward the matter to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense for review. “(D) Upon determining that an investigation of an allegation under paragraph (1) is warranted, the Inspector General making the determination shall expeditiously investigate the allegation. In the case of a determination made by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, that Inspector General may delegate responsibility for the investigation to an appropriate Inspector General within a military department. “(E) In the case of an investigation under subparagraph (D) within the Department of Defense, the results of the investigation shall be determined by, or approved by, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (regardless of whether the investigation itself is conducted by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense or by an Inspector General within a military department). “(4) Neither an initial determination under paragraph (3)(A) nor an investigation under paragraph (3)(D) is required in the case of an allegation made more than 60 days after the date 112 STAT. 2108on which the member becomes aware of the personnel action that is the subject of the allegation. “(5) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense, or the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (in the case of a member of the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy), shall ensure that the Inspector General conducting the investigation of an allegation under this subsection is outside the immediate chain of command of both the member submitting the allegation and the individual or individuals alleged to have taken the retaliatory action.”. (2) subsection (d) of such section is amended— (A) by inserting “receiving the allegation” after “the Inspector General” the first place it appears; and (B) by adding at the end the following: “In the case of an allegation received by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Inspector General may delegate that responsibility to the Inspector General of the armed force concerned.”. (b) Mismanagement Covered by Protected Communications.— subsection (c)(2)(B) of such section is amended by striking out “Mismanagement” and inserting in lieu thereof “Gross mismanagement”. (c) Simplified Reporting and Notice Requirements.— (1) Paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of such section is amended— (A) by striking out “Not later than 30 days after completion of an investigation under subsection (c) or (d),” and inserting in lieu thereof “After completion of an investigation under subsection (c) or (d) or, in the case of an investigation under subsection (c) by an Inspector General within a military department, after approval of the report of that investigation under subsection (c)(3)(E),” (B) by striking out “the Inspector General shall submit a report on” and inserting in lieu thereof “the Inspector General conducting the investigation shall submit a report on”; (C) by inserting “shall transmit a copy of the report on the results of the investigation to” before “the member of the armed forces”; and (D) by adding at the end the following new sentence: “The report shall be transmitted to the Secretary, and the copy of the report shall be transmitted to the member, not later than 30 days after the completion of the investigation or, in the case of an investigation under subsection (c) by an Inspector General within a military department, after approval of the report of that investigation under subsection (c)(3)(E).”. (2) Paragraph (2) of such subsection is amended— (A) by striking out “submitted” after “In the copy of the report” and inserting in lieu thereof “transmitted”; and (B) by adding at the end the following new sentence: “However, the copy need not include summaries of interviews conducted, nor any document acquired, during the course of the investigation. Such items shall be transmitted to the member, if the member requests the items, with the copy of the report or after the transmittal to the member of the copy of the report, regardless of whether the request for those items is made before or after the copy of the report is transmitted to the member”. 112 STAT. 2109 (3) Paragraph (3) of such subsection is amended by striking out “90 days” and inserting in lieu thereof “180 days”. (d) Repeal of Post-Investigation Interview Requirement.— subsection (h) of such section is repealed. (e) Definition of Inspector General Defined.— subsection (j)(2) of such section is amended— (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (G) and, in that subparagraph, by striking out “an officer” and inserting in lieu thereof “An officer”; (2) by striking out subparagraph (A) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(A) The Inspector General of the Department of Defense. “(B) The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation, in the case of a member of the Coast Guard when the Coast Guard is not operating as a service in the Navy. “(C) The Inspector General of the Army, in the case of a member of the Army. “(D) The Naval Inspector General, in the case of a member of the Navy. “(E) The Inspector General of the Air Force, in the case of a member of the Air Force. “(F) The Deputy Naval Inspector General for Marine Corps Matters, in the case of a member of the Marine Corps.”; and (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking out “means—” and inserting in lieu thereof “means the following:”. (f) Technical and Conforming Amendments.— (1) subsections (i) and (j) of such section are redesignated as subsections (h) and (i), respectively. (2) subsection (b)(1)(B)(ii) of such section is amended by striking out “subsection (j))” and inserting in lieu thereof “subsection (i)) or any other Inspector General appointed under the Inspector General Act of 1978”.