Mission: The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a 30-year-old nonprofit public interest group that promotes government and corporate accountability by advancing occupational free speech, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists. We pursue this mission through our Nuclear Safety, International Reform, Corporate Accountability, Food & Drug Safety, and Federal Employee/National Security programs. GAP is the nation's leading whistleblower protection organization.
Current Program Highlights
11/19/2009
Food Safety Conference Tomorrow
Tomorrow, November 20, the GAP and the American University Washington College of Law will sponsor a day-long conference focusing on problems with the current food safety policy structure in America, and how to improve upon it. The conference, Empowering Employees to Protect Food Integrity, starts at 9:30 next Friday.
This symposium acknowledges the role of employees as a first line of defense against food adulteration. Expert panelists will discuss food integrity issues, as well as new and pending laws (including whistleblower protections). Specifically, panelists will address legal and legislative reforms, immigrant rights, humane handling, corporate farming, and the role of labor in food safety.
Today at 11 a.m., the case of GAP client Robert MacLean will be heard before the Merit Systems Protection Board. MacLean was fired for blowing the whistle on actions taken by the Transportation Security Administration to cancel Air Marshal service on cross-country flights during a ‘Code Red’ hijacker alert period. Years after revealing this disclosure, which resulted in the canceling of the unsafe order, MacLean was fired for his part in revealing “sensitive security information” – a pseudo-classification level that was retroactively applied to the information in MacLean’s disclosure.
Empowering Employees to Protect Food Integrity: A GAP Conference
In 1906, Upton Sinclair wrote his groundbreaking novel “The Jungle.” In the book, Sinclair decried the inhumane treatment of workers in the meatpacking industry and in so doing also brought to light the tandem issue of food safety. Then, as now, food integrity and workers’ rights remain inextricably intertwined.
On November 20, GAP will be presenting “Empowering Employees to Protect Food Integrity,” a conference at the American University Washington College of Law. The conference aims to promote understanding of the importance of workers in protecting food integrity. Expert speakers, moderators, and panelists will discuss a wide variety of issues including: the role of labor, legal and legislative reforms, scientific advancements in food safety, immigrant rights, humane handling, and corporate farming.
Report Identifies Racial Inequality in IDB Projects and Employment
A new report prepared by GAP shows that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the most important multilateral lender to Latin America, fails to promote racial equality adequately. The issue affects the identification, preparation, and implementation of IDB programs and projects in the region, as well as the Bank’s hiring, retention, and promotion practices.
Trial Over Umatilla Mercury-Laden Mustard Agent Burning Starts Today
The Government Accountability Project (GAP), on behalf of Oregon environmental group GASP, the Oregon Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, and other petitioners, is arguing in Circuit Court today that the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (ECQ) and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) have not followed proper procedures in determining the ‘best available technology’ for disposing of mercury-laced mustard agent at the Umatilla Chemical Depot near Hermiston, Oregon.
Anti-Corruption and Whistleblower Advocacy Groups Urge Holder to Review UBS Whistleblower Case
The National Whistleblowers Center (NWC), the Government Accountability Project (GAP) and the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, urging him to review the case of Bradley Birkenfeld, the international banker who blew the whistle on secret offshore accounts at UBS Bank in Switzerland. On August 21, Mr. Birkenfeld was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for his actions, despite the fact that UBS’s tax fraud scheme never would have been discovered without Mr. Birkenfeld’s disclosure. Click here to read the letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Click here to read the press release
10/20/2009
IIC's Efforts To Invoke Immunities Denied Again In Vila Case
On October 5th 2009, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied a request filed by the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) for a hearing en banc of its motion to dismiss claims filed by Jorge Vila, a former consultant.Vila filed his claim against the IIC – the private sector lending arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) – in October 2006, and since then the Courts have turned back repeated efforts by the IIC to invoke its immunities.This case is now expected to go to trial before the District Court, where significant issues related to the transparency, internal audit and controls and accountability of international organizations are likely to be raised. Click here to read a report by GAP's International Reform Program Click here to read the 2008 IIC Memo Opinion Motion to Dismiss
10/13/2009
D.C. Firefighter Terminated For Whistleblowing
Firefighter Vanessa Coleman, previously a Captain with the D.C. Fire & Emergency Medical Services (F&EMS) Department and a 19-year veteran of the force, has been fired from her position as a result of blowing the whistle on wrongful actions taken against her by Department officials. Click here to read the press release
10/1/2009
Whistleblower Film Series Starts Today
GAP is proud to announce its co-sponsorship of the first Whistleblower Film Series – part of the 9th annual DC Labor FilmFest. The series is free and open to the public, and will be held on Thursday evenings in October, starting tonight, at 6:30 p.m. at the Capitol Visitor’s Center entrance on the East Front of the US Capitol Building.
GAP, POGO Praise Sen. McCaskill’s Contractor Whistleblower Bill
Today, GAP and the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) praised Senator Claire McCaskill’s introduction of legislation to make “best practice” whistleblowers rights, first passed in the stimulus bill, permanent for all federal government contractors.
On June 4, 2009, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka annulled the sale of the Sri Lanka Insurance Company (SLIC) to private interests, causing the ownership of SLIC to revert to the government. As a result of the court case, documents establishing the complicity of auditors from Price Waterhouse Coopers and Ernst and Young in the unethical and illicit transaction came to light. To date, however, neither company has been sanctioned and none of the individuals responsible has been held to account.
UPDATE: In a shocking decision handed down September 24th, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka overturned its own previous ruling and will allow P.B. Jayasundara to return to public office despite his orchestration of the unlawful privatization of the former public enterprise Lanka Marine Services, Ltd. LMSL) in August, 2002.
“The Informant” is about a wacky, dishonest witness to his own crimes and those of others, not about a whistleblower. A whistleblower is a person of conscience who challenges wrongdoing, often at great risk to one’s career, reputation and family.
The movie is based on the story of ADM scientist Mark Whittacre and is an often amusing satire about a deluded thief who stole from his crooked company. He then cooperated with the government in busting his employer for massive anti-trust violations that he had also engaged in.
Reviewers should respect what the film title makes clear: The eccentric Damon character is an “informant” about his own crimes, and those of others. The film is not called “The Whistleblower.” This is not a semantic distinction: Whistleblowers should be honored as people of conscience and integrity. Matt Damon’s fine comic portrayal of the rogue Whittacre deserves praise. But it would be a mistake to conflate a thief’s chicanery with whistleblowing.
8/25/2009
OSC Report Substantiates Allegations of Defective Hydraulic Pumps in New Orleans
An independent evaluation released in June by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), relying on the assessment of an independent engineer, has determined that there are serious safety and reliability issues with hydraulic pumps that were installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. These pumps are designed, in case of emergency, to move flood water away from the city to the lake side of the floodgates. Despite repeated internal reports that the pumps were faulty, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) have repeatedly denied inherent flaws in the hydraulic pumps since 2007.
GAP client Maria Garzino, a USACE mechanical and civil engineer, was the Pump Team Installation Leader who blew the whistle on several problems that render the pumps ineffective. This new report substantiates her allegations.
Whistleblower Kunal Saha Wins Supreme Court Case In India Against Medical Establishment
The Supreme Court (SC) of India handed down a landmark judgment on August 7, 2009, upholding the claim of medical negligence brought by Dr. Kunal Saha against four doctors and the Advanced Medicare Research Institute in Kolkata. The Court held the doctors and hospital guilty of negligent treatment, causing the death of Dr. Saha’s wife, Anuradha Saha, in 1998. In the Judgment, the SC also set out extensive new guidelines and regulations that physicians and hospitals must follow in treating patients.
GAP Report Details how Corrupt Privitization Does Not Deter IMF Lending to Sri Lanka
On July 24th, the Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 20-month standby arrangement worth $2.6 billion (U.S.) for the government of Sri Lanka. According to the IMF’s mission chief for Sri Lanka, the lending will help the government to reverse the decline in tax revenue suffered over the past few years. The IMF is on the record, however, recognizing that budget deficits and the lack of reserves are the result of a reluctance on the part of successive governments to implement measures necessary to safeguard state assets and collect revenues. Among other things, two Supreme Court decisions handed down since June 2008 show specifically that corruption and fraud favoring private interests in the sale of state-owned enterprises, a policy promoted by the Fund itself, together with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), are partially to blame.
GAP gratefully acknowledges the research and contributions to this paper of Consultants 21 Limited, Colombo, Sri Lanka, www.consultants21.com.
