Soledad Canyon Consistency Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 702, the Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2017, as amended.

I also thank my good friend, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, for his work on this measure and for his leadership and passion of our committee's ongoing efforts to ensure that Federal equal opportunity programs truly guarantee equal opportunity.

Most agencies are careful to ensure that their personnel policies protect employees' rights and that their EEO programs ensure that if discrimination does occur, employees can seek fair and timely redress.

Unfortunately, there have been instances in which agencies fail to meet the standards of a model EEO program. When that occurs, hardworking Federal employees are harmed.

For example, during the last Congress, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform conducted a number of hearings to examine how allegations of harassment and retaliation were handled at the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including the Forest Service.

In the case of the Park Service, a former superintendent of the Grand Canyon, one of our premier parks, received a report in 2013 documenting multiple allegations of sexual harassment. But rather than determining whether further investigation was warranted or disciplinary action should be pursued, the superintendent attempted to bury the report.

A year later, more than a dozen current and former employees sent their allegations directly to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary referred those allegations to the Inspector General. After an extensive investigation, the IG found ``a long-term pattern of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment'' at the Grand Canyon River District.

The Inspector General's Office also identified more than 20 other individuals who ``reported experiencing or witnessing sexual harassment and hostile work environments,'' and the IG confirmed that previous reports of sexual harassment ``were not properly investigated or reported.''

As disturbing as these findings are, the Inspector General has also found instances of sexual harassment and retaliation at other parks, including iconic places like Yellowstone National Park and the Canaveral National Seashore.

While the Park Service has announced measures to address the serious shortcomings in its EEO programs, it is clear that deficiencies in these programs are longstanding and have hurt numerous employees.

Similar chronic problems have occurred at the Department of Agriculture. The EEO program there has now been the subject of two extraordinary letters sent by the Office of Special Counsel to the President of the United States.

In May 2015, the Special Counsel wrote to warn the President that USDA's civil rights program ``has been seriously mismanaged, thereby compromising the civil rights of USDA employees.''

Just last month, the Office of Special Counsel wrote again to the President, finding that ``while the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has taken positive steps to improve its performance, based on the significant number of cases that are still subject to delays, OSC has determined that the agency response is unreasonable in part. USDA may need to devote more resources to the Office to ensure that cases are promptly processed and hold senior supervisors accountable for the mismanagement in this office.''

Such findings are not to be tolerated, and they highlight why this bill, H.R. 702, the Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act, is urgently needed.

This measure would require that the head of an agency's EEO program report directly to the head of the agency himself or herself. The measure would also require that an agency's EEO program be operated independently of its human resources or general counsel offices, ensuring that the EEO program is focused solely on protecting the civil rights of all employees and applicants.

H.R. 702 would strengthen the accountability mechanisms central to the effectiveness of the EEO process. For example, the bill would expand the notifications that agencies are required to provide when discrimination is indeed found to have occurred, and it would require agencies to track and report whether such findings resulted in any disciplinary action.

The bill would also prohibit agencies from attempting to gag employees by banning policies, forms, or agreements that seek to prohibit or restrict an employee from disclosing to Congress, the Office of Special Counsel, or an Office of the Inspector General any information that might relate to a violation of any law, rule, regulation, or waste, fraud, or abuse.

H.R. 702 is essentially identical to the bill we considered in the last Congress, which passed the House by a vote of 403-0. I urge Members to support the measure again.

As I close, Mr. Speaker, I join with Ranking Member Cummings in urging the Senate to move on this measure as expeditiously as possible, without the addition of extraneous and harmful amendments that might seek to curtail due process rights of Federal employees.

Any employee who engages in discriminatory or retaliatory behavior or who harasses another employee must be held accountable. The American public expects no less. Current personnel policies and practices are adequate to ensure that this can occur, and there is no need for any amendment to this bill that would undermine or weaken employees' due process rights.

Mr. Speaker, I talked to Representative Elijah Cummings recently. He is doing great. He is full of fight and can't wait to get back here to Congress. We expect to see him shortly.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 702, the ``Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2017.''

I support this legislation because it ensures agencies effectively implement their Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) programs and that federal employees are never prevented from disclosing discriminatory or wasteful actions to Congress, the Office of Special Counsel, or Inspectors General.

Let me express my thanks to Ranking Member Cummings for introducing this critical legislation that is essential to ensuring that our federal workplaces are free from discrimination, and that any barriers impeding fairness in personnel decisions are identified and eliminated.

This is not the first time we have addressed and offered legislation regarding workplace equality.

In 2002, the ``No Fear Act'' was first introduced in Congress and set the precedent for imposing additional duties upon Federal agency employers that are intended to reinvigorate their longstanding obligation to provide a work environment free of discrimination and retaliation.

On October 2, 2000, the House Science Committee held a hearing entitled ``Intolerance at EPA--Harming People, Harming Science?''

Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, an EPA whistleblower, won a 600,000 dollar jury decision against EPA for race and sex discrimination under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

During that hearing, then-chairman of the Science Committee Congressman Sensenbrenner illuminated the dangerous precedent set by the EPA, stating, ``While EPA has a clear policy on dealing with employees that discriminate, harass and retaliate against other EPA employees, no one apparently involved in the Coleman-Adebayo or Nolan cases have yet to be disciplined by EPA.''

Mr. Speaker, no employee should fear voicing their concerns in reference to a safer more work conducive environment.

According to the 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, only 60 percent of federal employees agreed that they could quote, ``disclose a suspected violation of any law, rule or regulation without fear of reprisal.''

We must do better and ensure employees have confidence that they can report an act of discrimination without suffering retaliation.

Employees need to know that EEO reports will be thoroughly, fairly, and timely investigated and adjudicated.

H.R. 702 would require that EEO programs operate independently of an agency's human resources or general counsel offices.

This bill requires the head of the program report directly to the head of an agency and the act would prohibit the use of non-disclosure agreements that restrict an employee from disclosing to Congress, the Office of Special Counsel, or instance of waste, fraud or abuse.

We often look at individuals or groups who step forward as whistleblowers.

This term has been used with a negative connotation to describe insubordinate employees, but history has shown us that whistleblowers are often heroes that have shed light on employers' illegal practices and as a result made the workplace better for future employees.

Mark Felt, the FBI agent known as deep throat during the Watergate Scandal of the 1970s.

Frank Serpico, New York police officer who confronted his department for the rampant corruption the leadership let take place.

Jeffrey Wigand, a tobacco executive who admitted that tobacco companies knew they were putting addictive chemicals into their cigarettes.

And Sherron Watkins, an executive of the Enron corporation who was vital in exposing the financial lies and frauds of the company.

All these individuals stood up against well-established corporations and agencies even when others doubted their claims.

We must protect these types of acts in Federal offices and successfully implement the Equal Employment Opportunity Programs (EEO).

Mr. Speaker, in a sense every Member of Congress is a whistleblower for the people in that uncovering and correcting problems in the agencies that administer the laws is an essential part of our oversight responsibilities.

As a senior member of the Committees on Homeland Security and the Judiciary, and as Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, I understand the importance of safe and discrimination free workplaces.

By strengthening existing requirements to ensure federal EEO programs meet high standards, we are implementing the best practices available to combat workplace discrimination.

It is our duty as Members of Congress to be whistleblowers, bring attention to this pressing matter, and put a stop to injustices occurring in the workforce.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 702, the Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2017, as amended.

I thank all of the bill's co-sponsors, including Representatives Norton, Sensenbrenner and Jackson Lee, for working with me on this measure and for their commitment to strengthening federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) programs.

I also thank Tanya Ward Jordan, Paulette Taylor, and all the members of the Coalition 4 Change (C4C) for their years of work on this measure and their perseverance.

H.R. 702 is essentially identical to H.R. 1557, which was considered in the last Congress. That legislation passed the House by a vote of 403-0. However, the bill did not pass the Senate before the end of the 114th Congress. I am hopeful that this year, we can finally get this measure over the finish line and to the President's desk for signature.

I authored H.R. 702 to make long-overdue reforms of federal EEO programs to ensure that they are better able to protect the rights of federal employees and applicants for federal employment.

Federal EEO programs exist to uphold the guarantee of equal opportunity that is the right of every citizen in this nation and to ensure that any barriers impeding fairness in personnel decisions are identified and eliminated.

While the vast majority of federal workplaces comply with current EEO requirements, some federal agencies still have not met the standards of a model EEO program set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

For example, in 2014, the EEOC issued a report on the Social Security Administration (SSA) that made 12 findings regarding SSA's failure to maintain a model EEOC program, ensure efficient management of the complaint process, provide uniform training to ensure equal opportunities, and implement effective and efficient anti-harassment policies and procedures.

The EEOC made more than 60 recommendations for reform of that one program alone.

Last year, bi-partisan investigations conducted by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service found significant deficiencies in both agencies' EEO programs.

At both agencies, employees suffered when their complaints of discrimination were not handled in a fair and timely manner. Employees were also harmed by agencies' failure to safeguard complainants' personal information.

To help end these failings, my bill would require that EEO programs operate independently of an agency's human resources or general counsel offices--and that the head of the program reports directly to the head of an agency. This would ensure that effective implementation of the EEO program is prioritized at the highest level of an agency--and that it operates with the sole purpose of ensuring equal opportunity for all employees.

H.R. 702 would also strengthen the accountability mechanisms that are central to the effectiveness of the EEO process.

Further, H.R. 702 would make clear that agencies cannot impose any nondisclosure agreement on federal employees to prohibit employees from disclosing fraud or illegal actions to Congress, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), or an Inspector General.

According to the 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, only 60 percent of federal employees agreed that they could, quote, ``disclose a suspected violation of any law, rule or regulation without fear of reprisal.''

The Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act would help ensure that federal employees can report discrimination without suffering retaliation--and that such reports will be thoroughly and fairly investigated and adjudicated in a timely manner.

Finally, as I close, I want to address some of the issues that arose during consideration of this measure in the Senate Homeland Security Committee last year.

I want to be crystal clear that I believe that supervisors who engage in discriminatory or retaliatory action must be held accountable.

However, this can be accomplished without curtailing any existing due process rights for federal employees and I will continue to oppose all efforts to roll back any due process right.

I urge all Members to support H.R. 702, and I hope that in this Congress, we can finally enact this measure into law.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 702) to amend the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 to strengthen Federal antidiscrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and expand accountability within the Federal Government, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 702, the Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2017, introduced by my colleague on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the ranking member, Elijah Cummings.

I should note that Mr. Cummings is unable to be with us here today for this important bill. He is recuperating from surgery, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 702 amends the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002, or the NO FEAR Act, to better identify and correct issues of discrimination throughout the Federal Government. Ranking Member Cummings introduced H.R. 702 in response to problems identified in the Baltimore office of the Social Security Administration.

The bill requires Federal agencies to establish a system to track Equal Employment Opportunity complaints from beginning to end. This system must also track any disciplinary action that resulted from a finding of a discriminatory act.

The bill also requires both the disciplinary action and the reason for the action to be included in the employee's personnel record.

Mr. Speaker, this bill implements notification and reporting requirements for instances of discrimination within Federal agencies. Agencies must provide a notice on an internal website if the agency or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission finds that a discriminatory or retaliatory act has occurred.

The bill requires agencies to submit a report to the EEOC if such an act has occurred. The report must include any disciplinary action initiated against an employee for discrimination or retaliation against another employee.

Lastly, the bill bars agencies from using nondisclosure agreements to restrict Federal employees from reporting waste, fraud, and abuse to Congress, the Office of Special Counsel, and Inspector General.

I thank Mr. Cummings for his work on this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I wish Mr. Cummings a speedy recovery.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.