On June 22 the Senate acted to plug a government accountability loophole created less than one month ago, when the Supreme Courts Garcetti v. Ceballos decision canceled constitutional free speech rights for government workers carrying out their job duties.

Senate bill S. 494, which includes that reform amidst a general overhaul of the Whistleblower Protection Act, was agreed to by unanimous consent as an amendment to the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. The fate of S. 494 will be determined by a conference not expected until late in the session. S. 494 restores the mandate of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), which has been gutted by judicial activism since 1994.

Senate action summarized in Government Accountability Project press release