Watchdog groups seek deal on whistleblower protections
Legislation is among several government accountability bills that have passed easily in both chambers but which lawmakers have struggled for months to reconcile.
Senate and House aides continued discussions Friday on competing bills that would enhance protection for federal whistleblowers, even as a coalition of government watchdog groups urge lawmakers to quickly adopt a version like the tougher House measure.
"We offer our support to expeditiously conclude the process of reconciling [the bills]," the groups wrote this week to lawmakers on House and Senate oversight committees.
The letter was signed by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Government Accountability Project, Project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen and 108 other organizations.
Last year, both chambers approved bills aimed at overturning federal case law that narrowed the types of disclosures for which federal employees can claim protection under whistleblower laws.
Both bills added limits on agency gag orders and lowered the burden of proof to allow punishment of supervisors alleged to have retaliated against whistleblowers.
The measures allow disclosure of some classified information to members of Congress and include steps to stop agencies from stripping whistleblowers of security clearances.
But since the Senate passed its bill in December, differences over access to jury trials for whistleblowers and national security considerations have not been resolved in staff-level discussions between the House Oversight and Government Reform and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees, aides said. Those disputes have prevented a formal conference. The whistleblower legislation is among several government accountability bills that have passed easily in both chambers but which lawmakers have struggled for months to reconcile.
Measures to strengthen the independence of inspectors general and oversight of federal contracting face similar circumstances.
Federal employees who say they suffered retaliation for blowing the whistle on agency malfeasance now have their cases adjudicated by the Merit Systems Protection Board. But many federal employee unions and groups advocating greater disclosure of government wrongdoing argue that MSPB in recent years has almost always ruled against whistleblowers.
Just two of 51 cases have been won by whistleblowers in initial MSPB hearings in the first three months of 2008, the coalition of watchdog groups wrote. Reflecting those concerns, the House bill would give government employee access to jury trials. But the Senate bill does not and House aides said Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, has concerns about the provision. A Collins spokesman did not comment on her position on jury trials but said she "looks forward to continuing discussions," to pass the legislation.
The House bill bars the government from invoking the states secret privilege to seek dismissal of whistleblower cases and covers employees of the FBI, intelligence agencies, Transportation Security Administration and government contractors. The Senate bill excludes those employees from many of its provisions. Protection for national security agency employees and contractors remains a sticking point, aides said.
Meanwhile, the White House has threatened to veto the House bill, saying the measure "might jeopardize national security." A Statement of Administration Policy said the bill could allow employees who disagree with their supervisors to claim they faced retaliation. Both bills passed with veto-proof majorities, but backers said conservatives like Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., might block a version that hews closely to the House bill. In their letter, the watchdog groups urged lawmakers to include jury trial rights and protection for national security employees and contractors in the final version of the bill.