S. 585: Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017

This was a vote to pass S. 585 in the House.

S. 585 provides additional protections to federal employees who suffer retaliation after disclosing waste, fraud and abuse in the government. The legislation is intended to hold managers accountable for their retaliation while making employees more aware they will be protected for notifying authorities about improper behavior in their work environments. The bill requires expedited investigations when probationary employees are fired for whistleblowing. It also makes it easier for the Office of Special Counsel to obtain information from federal agencies for investigations. Disciplinary measures could include punishing Veterans Administration employees who gain unauthorized access to the medical records of their fellow employees. In addition, the Government Accountability Office would be required to monitor and report on progress in instituting the enhanced whistleblower protections. The bill is named for Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick, a Veterans Administration psychologist, who committed suicide in 2009 after he was fired for questioning over-medication of patients at the Veterans Administration medical center in Tomah, Wisconsin. Some veterans called it “Candy Land” because doctors prescribed such high doses of opiates. A subsequent investigation blamed the prescriptions for the deaths of at least two veterans.

Passed.

H.R. 3243: FITARA Enhancement Act of 2017

This was a vote to pass H.R. 3243 in the House.

H.R. 3243 eliminates the sunset date on provisions of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act intended to reduce duplication and to produce savings. The provisions relate to transparency and risk management of major information technology investments. The bill extends three expiring provisions requiring federal data center consolidation, transparency and risk management of major IT systems as well as resource reviews. Following are the three provisions of FITARA set to expire in 2018 and 2019: (1) IT Dashboard – The Office of Management and Budget must make publicly available detailed information on federal IT investments and require agency chief information officers to categorize IT investments by risk; (2) PortfolioStat – Agencies must annually review IT investment portfolios to increase efficiency and effectiveness and to identify potential waste and duplication; (3) Data Center Consolidation Initiative – Agencies are required to provide OMB with a data center inventory, the number of data center closures, projected cost savings and quarterly updates on progress.

Passed.

H.Res. 569: Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017

This was a vote to pass H.Res. 569 in the House.

H.Res. 569 provides additional funding for disaster relief and recovery efforts, specifically recent wildfires and hurricanes. The $36.5 billion in emergency supplemental funding will be used to combat the wildfires in California, aid residents of Puerto Rico and help victims recover from the damage and destruction of hurricane-related flooding. The funding includes:

Passed.

H.R. 1858: To designate a facility of the U.S. Postal Service in Liberty, Pa., as the “Staff Sergeant Ryan Scott Ostrom Post Office”

This was a vote to pass H.R. 1858 in the House.

This vote was intended to name a post office after Ryan S. Ostrom, who was killed Aug. 9, 2005 while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ostrom was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard who was shot by enemy small arms fire in Habbaniya, Iraq. He was known in his community of Williamsport as a popular junior high school basketball coach, a winner of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association sportsmanship award and a Youth Leader of Tomorrow candidate while he was in high school. If he had returned from his Army service in Iraq, he would have been a senior majoring in chemistry at Mansfield University. Ostrom, 25, planned to be a teacher.

Passed.

Source: GovTrack