and Whistleblower Protection (a) Establishment There is established in the Department an office to be known as the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (in this section referred to as the Office ). (b) Head of Office (1) The head of the Office shall be responsible for the functions of the Office and shall be appointed by the President pursuant to section 308(a) of this title. (2) The head of the Office shall be known as the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection . (3) The Assistant Secretary shall report directly to the Secretary on all matters relating to the Office. (4) Notwithstanding section 308(b) of this title, the Secretary may only assign to the Assistant Secretary responsibilities relating to the functions of the Office set forth in subsection (c). (c) Functions (1) The functions of the Office are as follows: (A) Advising the Secretary on all matters of the Department relating to accountability, including accountability of employees of the Department, retaliation against whistleblowers, and such matters as the Secretary considers similar and affect public trust in the Department. (B) Issuing reports and providing recommendations related to the duties described in subparagraph (A). (C) Receiving whistleblower disclosures. (D) Referring whistleblower disclosures received under subparagraph (C) for investigation to the Office of the Medical Inspector, the Office of Inspector General, or other investigative entity, as appropriate, if the Assistant Secretary has reason to believe the whistleblower disclosure is evidence of a violation of a provision of law, mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. (E) Receiving and referring disclosures from the Special Counsel for investigation to the Medical Inspector of the Department, the Inspector General of the Department, or such other person with investigatory authority, as the Assistant Secretary considers appropriate. (F) Recording,