For months, we've been telling you about the dangerous provisions included in the Senate version of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (S. 372). We have now learned that S. 372 is being "hotlined," a process by which legislation can be passed through unanimous consent, without any debate or a roll-call vote.
A whistleblower protection enhancement bill should improve protections
for whistleblowers, not destroy protections that have been in place for
years. The impact of these provisions on national security
whistleblowers will be devastating. Your intervention on this issue
is crucial.
Although many provisions of the bill enhance whistleblower
protections, there are many "poison pills" that must be corrected,
including these ( see links to Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs report accompanying S. 372):
S. 372 repeals the FBI
whistleblower protection law! Originally passed in 1978, improved
in 1989, and given strong teeth by President Clinton in 1997, the law
has been instrumental in permitting FBI agents to expose abuses ranging
from civil rights violations, agent misconduct, and threats to our
nations security. ( see
p.46)
Agency heads of the Justice
Department, Commerce Department and security agencies (Defense
Department etc.), covering over half the federal workforce, are given
the power to unilaterally fire a whistleblower with no
administrative or judicial review. ( see
p.73)
National security whistleblowers
are denied the right to have their retaliation cases reviewed by
independent agencies, such as the Office of Special Counsel or the
Inspector General and they are denied the right to court access.
Instead, the very agency that fired the whistleblower is given
exclusive power to conduct the "fact finding" investigation into
whether that agency broke the law. ( see
p.70)
A new procedural roadblock impacting
every federal employee was inserted into this 105-page bill. This
provision gives all federal agencies the power to request the
dismissal of a whistleblower case without giving the employee an
opportunity to have a hearing and will prevent most employees from
obtaining a jury trial. ( see
p.57)
"Hotlining" requires unanimous consent, which gives you a
unique opportunity to ensure this bill does not pass as is.
Every Senator, regardless of committee assignment, has the opportunity
to weigh in on this legislation.
It only takes one
Senator's demand that these issues be fixed in order to stop this Trojan
horse from destroying existing whistleblower protections. That
Senator can be yours. Please TAKE
ACTION and contact your Senator today!
Sincerely,
Jane
Turner
Former FBI Special Agent, 25-Year Veteran
Director of FBI Oversight, National Whistleblowers Center
Sibel
Edmonds
Former FBI translator
Founder National Security
Whistleblowers Coalition
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