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GAP Statements and Explanation of Whistleblower Amendment in Stimulus Package
On Jan. 28, 2009, the House of Representatives unanimously adopted as part of the economic stimulus legislation, H.R. 1, an amendment by Todd Platts (R-PA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). The amendment adds landmark whistleblower protections for federal employees, restoring and strengthening the “Whistleblower Protection Act.”
GAP legal director Tom Devine commented, “The House-passed whistleblower reform would be a legal revolution in transparency through accountability. The bill creates a global gold standard for government employee free speech rights.”
The Platts / Van Hollen amendment was approved unanimously by voice vote. The amendment is identical to the House-passed “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act” from the previous Congress. It overturns over a decade’s worth of hostile court decisions from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals that defied congressional intent by gutting the protections available to federal employees. The legislation also removes the Federal Circuit’s monopoly jurisdiction on interpreting the law. Importantly, the amendment also provides employees with the right to a jury trial in federal court if they do not receive a decision within 180 days from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The amendment also extends protections to employees in the national security agencies.
For a complete summary of the legislation, and an explanation of its provisions, click here. (This is a description of WPAA H.R. 985 from last Congress - the amendment approved yesterday is identical to this.)
The amendment received overwhelming support from key members of the House of Representatives yesterday. To read a press statement from the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, after the whistleblower amendment was added to the stimulus legislation, click here. For excerpts from other Member’s statements in support of the bill, see below.
The stimulus legislation now moves on to the Senate, which has not yet included an analogous whistleblower provision for federal employees.
“With such overwhelming support in the House, it will clearly be up to the Senate to determine if this vital accountability provision survives in the economic stimulus legislation,” stated GAP legislative representative Adam Miles, who added that he’s optimistic that the Senate will support whistleblower rights for federal employees. The Senate passed whistleblower legislation in December 2007.
Congressional Statements in Support of Platts / Van Hollen Whistleblower Amendment on Economic Stimulus Legislation (1/28/09)
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) -- This act that we are passing today has unprecedented accountability measures built in, providing strong oversight, a historic degree of public transparency and no earmarks…With the adoption of the bipartisan Platts-Van Hollen amendment today, a broad-ranging coalition of public interest groups say we have set “a new standard of accountability and transparency by empowering Federal employees to call attention to waste, fraud, and abuse of tax dollars without fear of retaliation.”
Representative Todd R. Platts (R-PA) -- Mr. Chairman, the amendment that I'm offering with my colleague from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen) would insert the text of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act--H.R. 985 in the last session--into the underlying legislation. H.R. 985 passed by a bipartisan vote of 331-94 in 2007. This amendment strengthens the inadequate protections currently afforded to Federal employees who report illegalities, gross mismanagement and waste, and specific dangers to the public health and safety. As proposed, the underlying bill includes whistleblower protections for the employees of recipients of Federal funds approved through this bill, including State and local employees and government contractors. Federal employees responsible for overseeing the hundreds of billions of dollars in spending in this bill, however, will remain inadequately protected unless this amendment is adopted.
--snip--
With the enactment of this amendment, the court and administrative decisions that undermine whistleblower protections would be overturned. This amendment . . . grants employees the right to a jury trial in Federal court if the [MSPB] does not take action within 180 days, and ends the Federal Circuit Court's monopoly jurisdiction. Given the amount of money involved in the underlying legislation, Federal whistleblower protections will be that much more important to ensure effective oversight and accountability. As such, I urge adoption of this amendment.
Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) -- ...This economic recovery package contains about $550 billion in public funds to support important national priorities. We need to make sure these funds are effectively spent and that they're not lost through any waste, fraud or abuse. The underlying bill provides protection for whistleblowers at the State and local level. What this amendment does is to make sure that our Federal employees also have whistleblower protections so if they see waste, fraud or abuse, they can report it without fear of retaliation or harm.
And as Mr. Platts has said, what we're doing is simply putting the Whistleblower Protection Act that passed this body by a vote of 331-94 into this bill to make sure that these public funds are safeguarded and that we ensure accountability in the process. I think all of us would agree, regardless of our position on whether or not we should be putting any particular amount into public investment, we want that money safeguarded and protected against waste, fraud, and abuse. That's what this amendment is about.
Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA) -- Mr. Chairman, I am very delighted, as the floor manager for the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement bill of 2007, to be here to speak in strong support of the Van Hollen-Platts amendment. There is no greater deterrent to waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government than...providing strong remedies to Federal whistleblower[s], and this amendment does just that...
The inclusion of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act in H.R. 1 gives us a chance to swiftly enact strong and urgently needed federal whistleblower protections. It will also help ensure that the taxpayer dollars allocated by this important economic stimulus bill are spent wisely and responsibly.
Whistleblowers have long been instrumental in alerting the public and the Congress to wrongdoing in Federal agencies. In many cases, the brave actions of whistleblowers have led to positive changes that have resulted in more responsible, safe, and ethical practices. In some instances, the actions of whistleblowers have even saved lives. Unfortunately, despite the importance of whistleblowers in ensuring government accountability and integrity, court decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have undermined whistleblower protections and have unreasonably limited the scope of disclosures protected under current law.
Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) -- Mr. Chairman, I just want to add my support to this measure and thank the Members of this body who have worked so hard to bring this here previously and have also seen the wisdom of adding this into the stimulus package.
We have all been asked so many times how we're going to make sure this money is well spent, how we're going to make sure that our constituents get the value for which is in this. And I think this is the best protection that we have making sure that those people who have the information are there to tell us that.
Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY) -- Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform -- Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of the bipartisan Platts/Van Hollen amendment. This amendment is identical to H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007, which passed the House with an overwhelming vote of 331 to 94, and which was reported by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee by a vote of 28 to 0. . . .
The amendment addresses several court decisions which have ignored the intent of Congress and created loopholes which undermine the current whistleblower statute's effectiveness and unreasonably limit the nature of disclosures protected under current law. In addition, the amendment makes clear that national security workers, employees of the Transportation Security Administration, employees of government contractors, and workers who attempt to protect the integrity of federal science are all entitled to protection from retaliation for blowing the whistle.
Protecting whistleblowers is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It is an issue of importance to all Americans, because they are one of our most potent weapons against waste, fraud, and abuse. Ensuring that those who blow the whistle are protected from retaliation benefits all Americans.
Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) -- Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security -- Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the Amendment offered by Mr. Platts and Mr. Van Hollen, which clarifies and expands whistleblower protections to federal employees and contractors. In particular, I would like to speak in support of the provision to grant the Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) of the Transportation Security Administration the whistleblower protections they so rightly deserve. Mr. Chairman, our TSOs are not second class citizens and should not be treated as such. . . . If you do not set up a system where employees are protected, there is a disincentive to report offenses and the system remains inefficient and hinders transportation security. In the end, the American public may end up paying the price in terms of its security.
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