Representative Endorses Closing Loophole Excluding WPA Coverage
(Washington, DC) – The Government Accountability Project (GAP) applauded Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ranking Minority Member on the House Committee on Government Reform, in his call to extend and strengthen worker rights outlined within the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) to all national security employees. Waxman voiced his support in a letter to Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator who was fired for blowing the whistle on agency incompetence regarding actions leading up to September 11. Ms. Edmonds now leads the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition.
“Let me state unequivocally that all federal government workers deserve whistleblower protection, none more than national security whistleblowers,” Waxman wrote in a letter to Edmonds. Later in the letter, he continued, “…when these (federal) officials come forward to identify waste, fraud, or abuse, they suddenly become second-class citizens.”
On paper, the WPA was the strongest workplace free speech legislation in history when unanimously approved by Congress in 1989 and strengthened in 1994. Subsequent court interpretations, however, have created loopholes undermining the law’s intent and crippling its effectiveness. From 1994-2004, of the 97 WPA claimants bringing cases to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, only one has prevailed on the merits.
“National and homeland security whistleblowers are modern day Paul Reveres, and our nation’s best resource against terrorism,” stated Tom Devine, GAP Legal Director. “But they cannot defend themselves against bureaucratic friendly fire when they defend the public and routinely must engage in professional suicide to act as patriots. Representative Waxman’s position reflects real leadership, but it will not make a difference without bipartisan support. We are relieved that House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) has withdrawn plans to legislate a new loophole excluding homeland security whistleblowers from the WPA. Now is the time to restore rights for America’s patriots in the FBI, CIA and all other agencies on the front lines of the War on Terror.”