Protections Outlined for Federal Contractors, Baggage Handlers, and National Security Agents;
Floor Vote Expected Wednesday or Thursday

(Washington, D.C.) – The Government Accountability Project (GAP) applauds the leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives for scheduling a floor vote for Wednesday, March 14 or Thursday, March 15 on H.R. 985, the “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007.”

Highlights of the bill include whistleblower protections for federal contractors, national security agency workers, baggage screeners and other federal employees. The legislation restores the legal rights and mandate of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), which has been gutted by judicial activism since 1994 when Congress unanimously strengthened it. For the first time since 1978, government employees also will have due process enforcement teeth if their rights are violated, through normal access to court, including jury trials.

The legislation, sponsored by Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ranking Member Tom Davis (R-VA), Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA), and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) overhauls the law protecting federal government whistleblowers. For the last seven years, GAP has led a campaign working toward this reform’s enactment.

“The House is on the verge of whistling the truth,” commented GAP Legal Director Tom Devine. “The House is wise to protect its witnesses. This is the foundation for serious congressional oversight, with investigations that uncover the iceberg instead of just the tip.”

Specifically, the legislation would:

  1. Codify the legislative history for “any” protected disclosure, meaning the WPA applies to all lawful communication of misconduct. This restores “no loopholes” protection and cancels the effect of the Supreme Court’s Garcetti v. Ceballos decision limiting federal workers’ First Amendment rights.
  2. Provide those covered by the WPA access to jury trials in federal district court to challenge reprisals.
  3. End the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals monopoly on appellate review of the Whistleblower Protection Act (The Court has single-handedly gutted the WPA, leading to a 2-178 record against whistleblowers for decisions on the merits from October 1994 through February 12, 2007), restoring all-Circuit review, as in the original 1978 Civil Service Reform Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. This provision was approved today by a voice vote amendment.
  4. Extend rights to all national security whistleblowers, including those at the FBI and intelligence agencies.
  5. Extend rights to federally-funded contractors.
  6. Extend WPA rights to some 40,000 airport baggage screeners.
  7. Restore independent due process review of security clearance determinations for whistleblower reprisal, unavailable since a 1985 Supreme Court decision.
  8. Create specific protection in the law for scientific freedom, making it an abuse of authority to censor, obstruct dissemination, or misrepresent the results of federal research.
  9. Restore the unqualified, original “reasonable belief” standard established in the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act for whistleblowers to qualify for protection.
  10. Make permanent and provide a remedy for the anti-gag statute – a rider in the Treasury Postal Appropriations bill for the past 17 years – that bans illegal agency gag orders. The anti-gag statute neutralizes hybrid secrecy categories like “classifiable,” “sensitive but unclassified,” “sensitive security information” and other new labels that lock in prior restraint secrecy status, enforced by threat of criminal prosecution for unclassified whistleblowing disclosures by national security whistleblowers.
  11. Codify protection against retaliatory investigations, giving whistleblowers a chance to end reprisals by challenging preliminary “fact-finding” charades.
  12. Provide specific authority for whistleblowers to disclose classified information to Members of Congress on relevant oversight committees or their staff.
  13. Provide compensatory damages and reimbursement for expert witness fees to prevailing whistleblowers, establishing consistency with other remedial employment laws. This was another strengthening amendment added today.
  14. Modify the burdens of proof to make it more realistic for the Office of Special Counsel to seek disciplinary accountability against those who retaliate.
  15. Provide the Special Counsel with authority to file friend of the court briefs in support of whistleblower rights cases appealed from the administrative level.

GAP Legislative Representative Adam Miles commented, “This legislation creates the gold standards for protection of government workers who defend the public. The new House leadership is demonstrating its commitment to protecting our families and tax dollars. The Senate should follow suit without delay.”