112 Public Interest Organizations Support Comprehensive Whistleblower Rights
112 Public Interest Organizations Support Swift Action to Restore Strong, Comprehensive Whistleblower Rights
June 4, 2008 To: Sen. Joseph Lieberman; Sen. Susan Collins; Sen. Daniel Akaka; Sen. George Voinovich; Rep. Henry Waxman; Rep. Tom Davis; Rep. Todd Platts; Rep. Chris Van Hollen
The undersigned organizations, representing millions of Americans, write to support the completion of the landmark, eight-year legislative effort to restore a credible Whistleblower Protection Act. We offer our support to expeditiously conclude the process of reconciling House and Senate passed versions of this vital good government legislation, H.R. 985 and S. 274.
Unfortunately, every month that passes has very tangible consequences for scores of whistleblowers who still lack viable legal rights. In just the first three months of this year, since both chambers passed their versions of the legislation, whistleblowers have a 2-49 win-loss record in initial decisions from administrative hearings at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). For final rulings by the MSPB, the record is 2-53 under the current Chair. Since January, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a monopoly on appellate review, has ruled against whistleblowers in another ten consecutive decisions on the merits, leaving a track record of 2-200 since October 1994 when Congress last strengthened the law! We stand ready to provide any information that would help expedite the process, and to help you come to agreement on any unresolved issues. Any compromise should protect several critical provisions, which have already passed with overwhelming support. It is crucial that the final bill:
- Grant employees the right to a jury trial in federal court;
- Specifically protect federal scientists who report efforts to alter, misrepresent, or suppress federal research;
- Extend meaningful protections to FBI and intelligence agency whistleblowers;
- Strengthen protections for federal contractors, as strong as those provided to DoD contractors and grantees in last year’s defense authorization legislation;
- Extend meaningful protections to Transportation Security Officers (screeners);
- Neutralize the government’s use of the “state secrets” privilege;
- Bar the MSPB from ruling for an agency before whistleblowers have the opportunity to present evidence of retaliation;
- Provide whistleblowers the right to be made whole, including compensatory damages;
- Grant comparable due process rights to employees who blow the whistle in the course of a government investigation or who refuse to violate the law; and
- Remove the Federal Circuit’s monopoly on precedent-setting cases. We know that your offices share the commitment of every group signing the letter below and we deeply appreciate the years of effort to create more accountability in government. Please let us know how we can participate to expeditiously complete this badly needed good government reform. Once the reconciled version becomes law, the real winners will be the public!
Sincerely,
Adele Kushner, Executive Director
Action for a Clean Environment
Rochelle Becker, Executive Director
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
Gil Mileikowsky, M.D.
Alliance for Patient Safety
Linda Lipsen, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs
American Association for Justice (AAJ)
Mary Alice Baish, Acting Washington Affairs Representative
American Association of Law Libraries
F. Patricia Callahan, president and general counsel
American Association of Small Property Owners
Christopher Finan, president
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
Caroline Fredrickson, Director, Washington Legislative Office
American Civil Liberties Union
John Gage, National President
American Federation of Government Employees
Alexandra Owens, Executive Director
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Ms. Bobbie Paul, Executive Director
Atlanta WAND (Women's Action for New Directions)
Nancy Talanian, Director
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
William Snape, Senior Counsel
Center for Biological Diversity
Charlie Cray, Director
Center for Corporate Policy
Gregory T. Nojeim, Senior Counsel and Director, Project on Freedom, Security & Technology
Center for Democracy and Technology
J . Bradley Jansen, Director
Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights
Merrill Goozner, Director Integrity in Science
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Linda Lazarus, Director
Center to Advance Human Potential
Evelyn M. Hurwich, President and Chair
Circumpolar Conservation Union
David B. McCoy, Executive Director
Citizen Action New Mexico
Deb Katz, Executive Director
Citizens Awareness Network
John Judge
Coalition on Political Assassinations 9/11 Research Project
Michael McCray, Esq., Chair
3.5.7 Commission on Judicial Reform
Sarah Dufendach, Vice President for Legislative Affairs
Common Cause
Clarissa Duran, Director
Community Service Organization del Norte
Joni Arends, Executive Director
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Daniel Hirsch, Member, Executive Committee
Concerned Foreign Service Officers
Matthew Fogg, President
Congress Against Racism & Corruption in Law Enforcement (CARCLE)
Ellen Bloom, Director of Federal Policy Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel
Consumers Union
Mary Elizabeth Beetham, Director of Legislative Affairs
Defenders of Wildlife
Sue Udry, Director
Defending Dissent Foundation
Ben Smilowitz, Director
Disaster Accountability Project
Lisa Walker, executive director
Education Writers Association
Gregory Hile
EnviroJustice
Chuck Broscious, President
Environmental Defense Institute
John Richard
Essential Information
George Anderson
Ethics in Government Group
Steven Aftergood, Project Director
Federation of American Scientists
Marilyn Fitterman, Vice President
Feminists For Free Expression
Andrew D. Jackson, Asst. Campaign Coordinator
Focus-On-Indiana for Judicial Reform
Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director
Food and Water Watch
Bob Darby, Coordinator
Food Not Bombs/Atlanta
Tom Ferguson, Coordinator
Foundation for Global Community/Atlanta
Ruth Flower, Legislative Director
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)
Conrad Martin, Executive Director
Fund for Constitutional Government
Gwen Marshall, Co-Chairman
Georgians for Open Government
Paul F. Walker, Ph.D., Legacy Program Director
Global Green USA
(The US Affiliate of Green Cross International, Mikhail Gorbachev, Chairman)
Tom Devine, legal director
Government Accountability Project
Molly Johnson, Area Coordinator
Grandmothers for Peace, San Luis Obispo County Chapter
Jenefer Ellingston
Green Party of the United States
James C. Turner, Executive Director
HALT, Inc. — An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform
Tom Carpenter, Executive Director
Hanford Challenge
Helen Salisbury, M.D.
Health Integrity Project
Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., President
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
Donald Soeken, President
Integrity International
Jim Murtagh, Co-Chair
International Association of Whistleblowers
Mory Atashkar, Vice President
Iranian American Democratic Association
Mark S. Zaid
James Madison Project
Brett Kimberlin, Director
Justice Through Music
Michael D. Ostrolenk, National Director
Liberty Coalition
Jill McElheney, Founder
Micah's Mission
Ministry to Improve Childhood & Adolescent Health
James Landrith, Founder
The Multiracial Activist
Larry Fisher, Founder
National Accountant Whistleblower Coalition
Tinsley H. Davis, Executive Director
National Association of Science Writers
Joan E. Bertin, Esq., Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship
Sally Greenberg, Executive Director
National Consumers League
Terisa E. Chaw, Executive Director
National Employment Lawyers Association
Zena D. Crenshaw, Executive Director
National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc.
Paul Brown, Government Relations Manager
National Research Center for Women & Families
Pete Sepp, Vice President for Policy & Communications
National Taxpayers Union
Colleen M. Kelley, National President
National Treasury Employees Union
Steve Kohn, President
National Whistleblower Center
Amy Allina
National Women's Health Network
Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Ron Marshall, Chairman
New Grady Coalition
Rick Engler, Director
New Jersey Work Environment Council
Alice Slater, Director
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, New York
David A. Kraft, Director
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Sean Moulton, Director, Federal Information Policy
OMB Watch
Patrice McDermott, Executive Director
OpenTheGovernment.org
Joe Carson, Chair P. Jeffrey Black, Co-Chair
OSC Watch
Judy Norsigian, Executive Director
Our Bodies Ourselves
Betsy Combier, President and Editor
Parentadvocates.org
Former Special Agent Darlene Fitzgerald
Patrick Henry Center
Paul Kawika Martin, Organizing, Political and PAC Director
Peace Action & Peace Action Education Fund
Rev. Paul Alexander, Ph.D., Director
Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice
David Banisar, Director, FOI Project
Privacy International
Ronald J Riley, President
Professional Inventor's Alliance
Danielle Brian, Executive Director
Project On Government Oversight
Ellen Thomas, Executive Director
Proposition One Committee
David Arkush, Director, Congress Watch
Public Citizen
Jeff Ruch, Executive Director
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Lucy A. Dalglish, Executive Director
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Kirsten Moore, President and CEO
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
John W. Whitehead, president
The Rutherford Institute
Adrienne Anderson, Coordinator
Safe Water Colorado and Nuclear Nexus Projects Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
(Whistleblower Anderson v Metro Wastewater)
Dr. Roland Chalifoux
The Semmelweis Society International (SSI)
Clint Brewer, President
Society of Professional Journalists
Kevin Kuritzky
The Student Health Integrity Project (SHIP)
Daphne Wysham, Co-Director
Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN)
Jeb White, Executive Director
Taxpayers Against Fraud
Paul Taylor
Truckers Justice Center
Francesca Grifo, Ph.D., Director Scientific Integrity Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
Dane von Breichenruchardt, President
U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation
Gary Kalman, Director, Federal Legislative Office
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S.PIRG)
Dr. Jeffrey Fudin, Founder
Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition
Ann Harris, Executive Director
We the People, Inc
Mabel Dobbs, Chair Livestock Committee
Western Organization of Resource Councils
Janet Chandler, Co-Founder
Whistleblower Mentoring Project
Linda Lewis, Director
Whistleblowers USA
Kim Witczak
WoodyMatters
Cc: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
House Minority Leader John Boehner
July 15, 2008
Dear Mr. Landrith,
I am writing to thank you for your letter of June 4, 2008 to Representatives Waxman, Davis, Platts and Van Hollen in support of strong whistleblower protection legislation. I would specifically like to thank you for your support of granting employees the right to a jury trial in federal court and for ensuring that whistleblowers are able to recover compensatory damages, two important provisions which I have championed.
As you know, whistleblowers have long been instrumental in alerting the public and the Congress to wrongdoing in federal agencies. In many cases, the brave actions of whistleblowers have led to positive changes that have resulted in more responsible, safe, and ethical practices. In some instances, the actions of whistleblowers have even saved lives.
Many of the hearings that Chairman Waxman has held in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform – including hearings on waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq reconstruction, political interference in federal climate science, and the mistreatment of our veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center – have clearly demonstrated the critical importance of whistleblowers to uncovering illegal, wasteful, and dangerous practices in government agencies. These hearings have also demonstrated the need to expand and enhance protections for federal whistleblowers. Unfortunately, despite the importance of whistleblowers in ensuring government accountability and integrity, court decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit have undermined whistleblower protections and have unreasonably limited the scope of disclosures protected under current law.
That is why I am proud that the House acted quickly last year to pass H.R. 985, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, and why I am pleased that a similar bill, S.274, the Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act, passed the Senate by unanimous consent in December 2007. That is also why I believe that it is so important that the House and the Senate reconcile these two bills and enact strong whistleblower protection legislation soon.
I was proud to work with Chairman Waxman to strengthen H.R. 985 by adding two amendments to the legislation when the Oversight Committee marked up the bill in February 2007. My amendments (enclosed) would ensure that federal employees are protected with a right to jury trial in whistleblower cases, and that federal employees are able to recover compensatory damages, including attorney’s fees, interest, reasonable expert witness fees, and costs.
I believe that the inclusion of these two amendments in the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act augments the important protections in the underlying bill that Chairman Waxman crafted, and that these amendments are critical to ensuring that federal whistleblowers who face retaliation receive the fair hearings and justice that they deserve. I also believe the fact that these two amendments arid the underlying bill passed unanimously through the Committee, and by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 331 – 94 on the House floor, demonstrates that there is strong and broad support for these protections on both sides of the aisle.
Again, thank you for your support of my amendments, and for your efforts to ensure that the House and Senate pass a strong, final whistleblower protection bill which includes these provisions. I encourage you to continue your advocacy and I look forward to working with you on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Bruce Braley
Member of Congress