By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer
February 13, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Protections for federal whistle-blowers that were part of an earlier version of the economic stimulus bill were left out in the final legislation.

By Daphne Eviatar 2/11/09
Washington Independent

Despite a strong push from whistleblower advocates, the final stimulus bill appears not to include protections for federal employees who call attention to waste, fraud and abuse of stimulus money. It's an odd outcome, given that federal employees are often the first people to notice fraud and other abuses by government contractors, as exhibited in many of the House oversight hearings on the subject over the past few  years. (Remember Bunnatine Greenhouse, who lost her job after blowing the whistle on the no-bid contracts for Halliburton?)

Saturday, February 07, 2009 By Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The watchdogs are worried.

As Congress battles over President Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus package, the nation, -- including Pennsylvania -- appears poised to be on the receiving end of a whole bunch of money.

Washington Times Thursday, February 5, 2009

For years there have been some half-hearted efforts in Congress to protect government employees who disclose corruption and malfeasance in their agencies. It's high time for the efforts to become reality, and for Congress to actually protect those who witness wrongs and try to make government better or at least live up to its mandate.

Washington, D.C. December 16, 2008. This week's cover story in Newsweek focuses on Thomas M. Tamm, a former Justice Department lawyer who blew the whistle on the National Security Agency's illegal wiretapping on U.S. citizens.  As his reward for heroically exposing this illegal program, Tamm could be charged with violating national security and intelligence laws and jailed for up to 10 years. See the blog.

Washington, D.C. September 22, 2008.  In March 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R.985, strong legislation to protect federal employee whistleblowers. The measure passed the House by a margin of 331-94.  In December 2007, the Senate unanimously passed S.274, its version of the law; however, the Senate bill fails to include several strong provisions that are contained in H.R. 985.  Currently, efforts are underway to try to reconcile the House and Senate bills. 

Paul Reveres or Benedict Arnolds: Whistleblowing in the Post-9/11 Age

After twenty years as a FBI Special Agent, Jane Turner led efforts to force the FBI to provide protection for child sex crime victims on the North Dakota Indian Reservations.  In retaliation for exposing FBI failures within its child crime program, Turner was removed from her position.  Her whistleblower case is still pending.  Available to speak