Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman (AP Photo)
Legislation being fast-tracked through the U.S. Senate has been labeled a setback for protections guarding government employees who expose wrongdoing in the FBI and other national security operations.
According to the National Whistleblowers Center, the bill (S. 372) by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-Connecticut) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) “will set whistleblower protections back 30 years for hundreds of thousands of federal employees. It will become almost impossible for employees in various ‘national security’ related agencies to obtain protection against retaliation if they disclose contractor fraud, waste and misuse of federal monies, mismanagement and threats to the public health and safety.”
Among other things, the legislation would change current law (the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act) by requiring FBI employees to prove “gross mismanagement” when speaking out, otherwise they would not be protected by rules governing whistleblowers.
Lieberman and Collins are “hotlining” the bill, a procedure normally reserved for non-controversial legislation approved unanimously by the Senate. Senate Democratic and Republican leaders have reportedly agreed to move things along as quickly as possible.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Hotlined Senate Bill Weakens Whistleblower Protection (by Yana Kunichoff, Truthout)
Letter to Senators Lieberman and Collins (National Whistleblowers Center)
Whistleblower Protection Act of 2009 (report by Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the United States Senate) (pdf)
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