September 20, 2006 Letter to Representative Moran
James Landrith
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
September 20, 2006
The Honorable James P. Moran
U.S House of Representatives
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4608
Dear Representative Moran:
Congress has an opportunity to protect National Security Whistleblowers. As a military veteran and member of the Liberty Coalition, I have joined their calling and urge you to support House substitute, H. R. 1317/H.R. 5112, for the ineffective and only cosmetic Senate Amendment, S. 494.
As you are aware, the Senate has incorporated a whistleblower protection provision (S.494) into the fiscal year 2007 defense authorization act. The Senate proposal does not properly protect national security. It excludes key government workers fighting the “war on terror” from any whistleblower protection whatsoever. Additionally, the protections it does offer are weak and have been incompetently administered by a lack-luster merit systems process which has often rewarded inefficiency.
However, the House of Representatives has taken leadership on drafting and passing real whistleblower protections intended to defend national security. See, H.R. 1317 (as reported in House Report No. 109-544) and H.R. 5112. Over the past year the House Government Reform Committee has conducted extensive hearings on the appropriate standards necessary to protect those patriotic civil servants willing to expose bureaucrats or politicians who are “weak” or incompetent on national-security issues. Guided by their thorough and in-depth study, the House Government Reform Committee, on a nearly unanimous vote approved legislation that, unlike the Senate version, will adequately protect national security.
Your personal intervention is requested to ensure that the House Reform Committee’s well-reasoned protections are adopted in conference, not the weak and ineffective Senate provision. The House leadership needs to insure that H.R. 1317 & H. R. are substituted for S. 494 during the final conference on the 2007 defense authorization act.
It should now be clear to any knowledgeable observer that substantive whistleblower protection will result in greater national security and citizen safety as well as greater conservation and more effective use of public funds.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
James Landrith