Congress Protects Some Whistleblowers, Leaves Others Out
On Wednesday, behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, House and Senate leaders hammered out a deal to pass the economic stimulus bill. Both the original House and Senate versions of this bill included protections for employee whistleblowers. By Wednesday evening, news sources such as Talking Points Memo were reporting that the whistleblower provisions in the bill had been cut.
Well, we got our hands on the final text of the bill, and it turns out that whistleblower protections for state, local, and government contractor employees have made the final bill! Unfortunately, the proposed protections for federal employees have been eliminated completely.
This is a partial victory, but a victory nonetheless. Now we must continue to fight for the rights of federal employees. Stephen and Michael Kohn, the President and General Counsel of the National Whistleblowers Center, released the following press statement this morning:
"Private contractors and state and local government employees are covered. They have a right to file a claim and present their case to an independent court and jury. It is now up to Congress to finish the job, and ensure that federal employees have the same rights. It makes no sense to protect some workers who have responsiblity over the stimulus, but to deny protections to the federal regulators who will have the primary duty to police the spending and ensure that there is no political favoritism in the allocation of billions of dollars in taxpayer monies," said Stephen Kohn, the President of the National Whistleblower Center.
"Congress has started to listen," said Michael Kohn, General Counsel of the National Whistleblower Center and attorney for Bunny Greenhouse. "We need to redouble our efforts and obtain universal whistleblower protection coverage for all American workers, including federal government employees," Michael Kohn added. Earlier this week Greenhouse had asked that both the McCakill Amendment and the Platts-Van Hollen Amemdnets be enacted into law. The Senate approved the McCaskill amendents, but cut out the protections for federal employees.
"Senator Clare McCaskill did an incredible job getting these changes into the stimulus. It was a tough and fast paced environment and she was able to ensure strong oversight provisions for some of the workers involved in spending taxpayer monies. She worked in an open an bi-partisan manner and obtained the support from other key Senators, including Independent Senator Liberman and Republican Senator Collins. We hope that the reforms included in the stimulus package will be made permament, will apply to the use of all taxpayer monies and will cover federal workers."
Dear Mr. Kohn, 2/13/2009
As you well know I have the high regard and respect for you and your endeavors and efforts. Please, you are wrong with the support of this FRAUDULENT Whistleblower Bill without the Federal Employee protection and as absolutely required in our US Constitution Bill of Rights and False Claims Act. Support of this Bill will absolutely make it much worse for Federal Employees!! It will allow cover for the corrupt Federal Employee whom will be forced to follow the continued deranged, manical, dishonest, disingenuous corrupt policies and practices and fraudulent Bail-out Funds from our so-called current members of our Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches and no recourse for the honest, do it right Federal Employee!! It will not allow US Attorney General Eric Holder from 'FEDERAL EMPLOYEE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION'!!!!!!!his corrupt decesion to CLAIM STATE SECRETS LAST MONDAY IN A FEDERAL CASE. It will not allow 'WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION President Obama from his continued SEEMINGLY DELIBERATE AND INTENTIONAL 'ILLEGAL SECRECY, TORTURE AND ILLEGAL RENDITION AND A HOST OF MANY OTHER POSSIBLE ALLEGATIONS AND TO INCLUDE, NEGLIGENT LOSS OF LIFE, MURDER'!!!!!
Mr. Kohn, allow me to continue to suggest that you follow my previous suggestion/advice that you absolutely do not support this CORRUPT BAIL-OT BILL WITHOUT THE FULL HR985 'FEDERAL EMPLOYEE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION RESTORATION ENHANCEMENT ACT'!!..
Mr. Kohn, please do not allow our US ATTORNEY GENERAL AND OFFICE TO BE HELD HOSTAGE BY THIS CORRUPT ANTI WHISTLEBLOWER AMENDMENT ACT IN THIS CORRUPT
BAIL-OUT BILL!!..
Thank you and all for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Axel
Axel V. Sabersky
Dear NWC, 2/13/2009
Dear Readers,
Attached is a reply to a recent POGO, Project on Government Oversight' Aricle Entitled 'The Art of Losing Isn't Hard to Master' which mentions my apologies to Mr. Kohn and the NWC, National Whistleblower Center.
Good luck and best wishes in your continuing endeavors.
Thank you and all for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Axel
Axel V. Sabersky
--------------Attached My POGO blog comment reply-----------
Dear Editor, 2/13/2009
(Aside from the humor and tears and implication of a root to the poor house) I am proud of your seemingly and innovative due dillegent, exemplary, superb and excellent tremendous accomplishments and in and within the POGO
Team Spirit.
As I hope to continue to support your forthright and proper 'Oversight and Accountability' efforts and innovatations within your efforts and endeavors that I attach the following blog comment reply from the recent NWC, National Whistleblower Center, Congress Protects Some Whistleblowers' that I hope will offer a more complete prospective to these POGO and NWC Articles. Please note that I only very briefly and very limited partially read the NWC Article prior to my blog comment reply. Please note that I highly am appreciative of this NWC Article and most especially my blog comment reply that has been posted.
PLEASE NOTE; That upon my further reading this NWC Article that the Article appears to me to clearly state that '....IT MAKES NO SENSE TO PROTECT SOME WORKERS WHO HAVE RESPONSIBILITY OVER THE STIMILUS, BUT TO DENY PROTECTIONS TO THE FEDERAL REGULATORS WHO WILL HAVE THE PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY DUTY TO POLICE THE SPENDING AND ENSURE THAT THERE IS NO POLITICAL FAVORTISM IN THE ALLOCATION OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TAXPAYER MONIES').
Please relay my apologies to Mr. Kohn and the NWC as this is hopefully clearly a superb and excellent NWC Article from Mr. Kohn and the NWC and within the efforts and endeavors towards a 'Proper and Forthright' WPA, Whistleblower Protection Amendment within this so-called bail-out and not the fraudulently incomplete and fraudulent current ANTI-Whistleblower Protection Amendment!!..
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Axel
Axel V. Sabersky
Aren't federal employees already protected for basically the same thing as part of the federal WPA? (5 USC 2302b8)
[a supervisory employee shall not] take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take, a personnel action with respect to any employee or applicant for employment because of--
(A) any disclosure of information by an employee or applicant which the employee or applicant reasonably believes evidences--
(i) a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or
(ii) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety,
if such disclosure is not specifically prohibited by law and if such information is not specifically required by Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or the conduct of foreign affairs;
b8A reads almost exactly like Sec 1553 of the stimulus bill, except the stimulus bill adds "related to covered funds" at the end of each protected disclosure. I think you guys are being too down on this bill. It's going to give whistleblower protection to HUGE swaths of state and local employees, and huge swaths of private sectors jobs. When you consider SBA loans going out and all the hospitals receiving federal IT funds, etc. This thing is huge. Be happy.