GovernmentExecutive.com

Proposed additions to a law protecting federal whistleblowers would obstruct the executive branch's constitutional powers, a Justice Department official told lawmakers Wednesday.

The Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act (S. 1358), introduced by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, in late June to strengthen whistleblower laws, contains particularly worrisome language allowing exposure of classified information, Peter Keisler, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's civil division, testified at a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.

This language would prevent federal managers from withdrawing employees' security clearances in retaliation for blowing the whistle. Under the bill, civil servants who obtain classified information revealing fraud, mismanagement or a security threat, could share it with authorized lawmakers and congressional staff members.

The provision permits potential whistleblowers to step forward without worrying that managers will revoke their security clearance, Grassley said. "Bureaucracies have an instinct to cover up their misdeeds and mistakes, and that temptation is even greater when a potential security issue can be used as an excuse," he added.

But the language interferes with the "executive branch's constitutional responsibility to control and protect information relating to national security," Keisler testified. He also objected to a provision that would afford whistleblowers protection without "restriction to [the] time, place, form, motive, [or] context" of their disclosure.

The measure would lead to "costly inefficiencies in the federal workplace" by allowing "almost any" employee unsatisfied with a personnel decision to qualify as a whistleblower, Keisler warned lawmakers. "The changes proposed in this bill do nothing to strengthen the protection for legitimate whistleblowers, but instead would provide a legal shield for unsatisfactory employees," he testified.

"One would think that [Justice] does not appreciate the value that whistleblowers provide, which is peculiar in light of the fact that whistleblowers helped [the department] recover billions of dollars from wrongdoers," Grassley said in response to Keisler's criticism. In fiscal 2003, the Justice Department retrieved $2.1 billion lost through fraud against federal programs.

Grassley's legislation, and a House companion bill introduced in mid-October, aim to enhance the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act and its 1994 amendments. These laws shield current and former federal employees revealing significant waste, mismanagement or security problems, from retaliation.

No FBI Favoritism

The Justice Department found little evidence to support claims that the FBI systematically favors senior managers in the disciplinary process, according to an inspector general report released Thursday.

In October 2002, FBI employee John Roberts appeared on the television program 60 Minutes and claimed the FBI had a double standard when it came to disciplining Senior Executive Service employees and non-SES employees. Roberts, a unit chief in the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility, also claimed that FBI cases have "disappeared" or "vaporized." The FBI asked the Justice Department to review Roberts' claims.

"In sum, our review did not find any examples of a case 'disappearing' or 'vaporizing,' as Roberts suggested on 60 Minutes," the IG report states. "Moreover, the small number of cases we reviewed in this report provides an insufficient basis to conclude that the FBI systematically favors SES employees over less senior employees."

However, the IG said the cases it reviewed reinforced some of the concerns expressed in a November 2002 report, which did not conclusively establish that a double standard for discipline exists, but found the FBI suffers from a strong perception among employees that there is a double standard.

For example, the latest review found discrepancies in discipline between a supervisor and line agent for inappropriate jokes at FBI functions; an FBI supervisor's failure to recuse himself from a career board that selected for promotion an official who handled his disciplinary case; continuing concerns about the uneven application of the FBI director's "bright line" policy against lying, cheating, or stealing; and continuing concerns about the FBI's promotion of senior-level employees who are under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct.

COMMENTS

• This is so cheesy ole Peter ought to have a long gray tail, beady eyes and wiskers. After 35+ years of carrying a security clearence on one level or another I've seen how something can become "classified" on a whim. Especially if it could be embarassing to someone of consequence. This includes a copy of "Playboy" accidently carried into a classified area. The whole point of your position is to keep the public ignorant, cover up and keep the employees in line through intimidation and threats. You got ANY idea how many guys, agencies, administrations I've seen like you wrap the flag around themselves to justify just about anything. All in the name of "for the good of the country". There's a couple of books you should try reading someday. "None Dare Call It Treason" and "The Emperor's New Clothes". Perhaps they'll enlighten you. Art Doss Posted November 18, 2003 10:54 AM
• Now everyone knows what the Justice Department thinks. Only the "unsatisfactory" civil servants are whistleblowers. This DOJ would do and say anything to keep crime and corruption in the federal government. Saving the taxpayer 2.1 Billion is of no interest to the DOJ, they want their criminals and that is how it is going to be. Mr. Ashcroft must be proud of the decision to keep whistleblower laws weak and out of the headlines. GovExec.com reader Posted November 14, 2003 7:16 AM