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Good news is possibly in store for Whistleblowers if the Government Accountability Project office gets its way.  The organization came  with a brilliant idea of tying Whistleblower Protections to the Stimulus Bill that is in the forefront of everyone's mind in Washington, to help promote whistleblower rights.  They drafted a letter to President Obama and other Key figures outlining how this can be made possible and the benefits to all sides. Click here to read the letter sent by the Coalition.

Clever strategy. One can only hope that it works and that Washington will look at the bigger picture and see this as a win-win.

The coalition is urging support for an amendment to the stimulus legislation sponsored by Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Click Here to read Russell Platt's Letter.

Stay tuned for more information on this important issue of whistleblower Rights and Protections. Click here if you want to read more on this from the Government Accountability Project Office.

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Good news is possibly in store for Whistleblowers if the Government Accountability Project office gets its way.  The organization came  with a brilliant idea of tying Whistleblower Protections to the Stimulus Bill that is in the forefront of everyone's mind in Washington, to help promote whistleblower rights.  They drafted a letter to President Obama and other Key figures outlining how this can be made possible and the benefits to all sides. Click here to read the letter sent by the Coalition.

Clever strategy. One can only hope that it works and that Washington will look at the bigger picture and see this as a win-win.

The coalition is urging support for an amendment to the stimulus legislation sponsored by Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Click Here to read Russell Platt's Letter.

Stay tuned for more information on this important issue of whistleblower Rights and Protections. Click here if you want to read more on this from the Government Accountability Project Office.

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Yesterday, Joe Davidson, wrote a great article Groups Seek Whistle-Blower Protection in Bailout Legislation for the Washington Post summing up how important it is for Whistleblower Protection to be considered in this bailout legislation. A letter from 40 organizations was sent to several Senate Committees urging members to include key whistleblower protection in the bailout legislation. This could be a coup for whistleblowers if the language on whistleblower protections are included in the bailout legislation.

Unfortunately, for unsung heroes such as David Ross, a former Food and Drug Administration doctor, this much needed legislation is too late. He sounded the alarms and informed management that there was fraud in the antibiotic, Ketek. Unfortunately, no one listened.  Since then, users of Ketek have reportedly died or suffered liver failure. According to Ross, He tried to work through the proper channels in the system and do what was morally right. He reported findings and suspicions to his management. Unfortunately, to his dismay, he was targeted as the enemy in the agency and could not find recourse in the Courts, like so many other whistleblowers. The sad thing in this instance is that the employer was the FDA, an entity that is supposed to look out for the safety of millions of Americans.  The truth was swept under the rug and the Whistleblower was left out in the cold. 

I encourage to read the blog post by Dylan Blaylock and Axel V. Sabersky of the GAP - All things Whistleblower Blog. They give some interesting Commentary on the subject matter of Whistleblower legislation and the bailout proposal. According to Axel, "All new laws proposed by Congress lack provisions to guarantee jury trials to whistleblowers, which is a protected right written in Amendment VII of the Constitution".  It is a sad day, when our rights to a trial are taken away from us, especially in issues relating to fraud against our government... I hope that the American Public wakes up and let their voice be heard, that whistleblower protections are critical. Especially, if we want to hold corporations, Government Agencies and individuals accountable. 
 

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Yesterday, the U.S. Senate, with a unanimous vote, passed the Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act (S.274). This new law enhances the protection for federal employee whistleblowers.

Passage of S.274 now sets the stage for a conference between the House and Senate to agree final legislative language. On March 14, 2007 the House enacted the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 985), which expanded the scope of whistleblower protections to national security related agencies, permitted employees to obtain jury trials in federal court, provided enhanced protections for federal contractors and protected employees who exposed misconduct to their managers.

According to the Government Accountability Project (GAP), the Whistleblower Protection Act reform has been struggling for eight years to reach the end of a convoluted approval process. Proud supporters include the bi-partisan efforts of Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) Susan Collins (R-ME), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Carl Levin (D-MI) and Richard Durbin (D-IL). In 2004 and 2005 the bill passed committee, but was blocked by procedural holds. Last year Senators Levin and John Warner (R-VA) obtained its Senate approval as part of the Defense Authorization funding bill, but it was killed in the conference committee on the defense bill.
Unfortunately, the GAP also mentions that S. 274 does not contain five critical reforms passed in March by the U.S. House of Representatives in H.R. 985, co-sponsored by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA). The House-passed reforms include protection for national security whistleblowers at the FBI and intelligence agencies, protection for government contractors, protection for federal baggage screeners, jury trials for a fair day in court, and reinforced protections for federally-funded scientists. The House passed H.R. 985 by a 331-94 vote, a veto-proof majority, despite a threat to veto the legislation issued by the Bush administration the day prior to the vote.

All things considered we have made progress with this new legislation.  Let's see if Congress can continue to work together and do what is right in regards to this whistleblower legislation that aims at protecting our brave citizens that come forward and report fraud against their employers.

We're counting on our elected officials to make this a reality so that whistleblower rights can be enforced and protected.

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Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation voted to approve S. 2045, The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act of 2007. This bill will revamp the  federal standards on consumer products and will incorporate whistleblower language that protects employees who speak out on consumer safety violations against their employers. Once passed, this new law would prohibit manufacturers, distributors, and retailers from retaliating against employees who report violations of consumer safety laws.

Stephen M. Kohn, President of the National Whistleblower Center, states "Whistleblower protections for employees who report violations of consumer product safety standards are absolutely critical. If courageous employees can't report violations without fear of retribution, especially in overseas factories, then the American people may not know about dangerous or defective products until it is too late".

Leaders and supporters of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) are among the group of supporters of  S. 2045, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007. The GAP Legislative Director, Adam Miles, adds that "With the recent import scares and the holiday season approaching, adding consumer product safety protections to this list couldn't be happening at a better time." 

Mr. Miles and Mr. Kohn are absolutely correct in their assessment of the Bill. It is great to know that we have consumer and employee rights champions on such important issues.  There are two key Senators that need to be acknowledged for their efforts in this legislation,  Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR). Their tireless and valiant efforts will help make a difference in the improvement in the CPSC and provide safety measures to protect Whistleblowers. According to Senator McCaskill,  “We may get the lead out of the whistles, but if we don’t protect the people that are blowing the whistles, we’re not going to get the information we need”.

The next step is to get the S. 2045, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007 passed by the entire Senate.  All eyes are on the Senate.

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Monday begins the kickoff of the Washington Whistleblower Week, which runs from May 14 - May 18. The Government Accountability Project (GAP), 45 national public interest groups and hundreds of whistleblowers from around the country will be in Washington for this event.

We will share the latest news from Washington with you on this site:  ww.whistleblowerlawblog.com

Stay tuned for major decisions and discussions from key players on new whistleblower legislation.

Click Here for more information from the Government Accountability Project (GAP) on a listing of events.

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