Presidential candidates back stronger whistleblower protections

Nine presidential candidates have pledged support for pending legislation to enhance protections for federal employees who expose weaknesses or fraud in government programs, according to survey results released Monday by a whistleblower support group.

Seven Democratic candidates and two Republicans said in response to a survey by the Washington-based National Whistleblower Center that they endorse legislation (H.R. 985) that would clarify language in the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act. For instance, the bill states that whistleblowers are protected by law for any disclosure, regardless of whether it is made to someone inside or outside an agency.

The bill cleared the House in March, and a Senate version (S. 274) passed at the committee level in June.

The Democratic candidates who expressed support for the measure were: Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson. Republicans Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul also said they backed the bill.

"It is shocking that on Labor Day 2007, the majority of American workers still have no adequate federal protection when they risk their jobs and disclose illegal or unsafe conduct," said Stephen Kohn, president of the whistleblower group.

The nine candidates also said they would support the appointment of a special counsel firmly committed to protecting federal whistleblowers. They indicated that federal employees who expose weaknesses in homeland security and the government's efforts to combat terrorism should be fully protected under whistleblower law.

The two other candidates who responded to the survey -- Republicans Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo -- issued statements in support of whistleblower legislation in general, but did not specifically support H.R. 985. "I support the rights of individuals who speak up when they witness unlawful actions taking place, whether within the federal government or anywhere else in America," Brownback said. "One of the reasons we are a great nation is because of our guaranteed rights and freedoms."

Other presidential contenders -- Democratic candidate Joe Biden and Republicans Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney -- declined to respond to the survey.

The National Whistleblower Center and another nonprofit group, the Government Accountability Project, have been lobbying Congress for passage of the whistleblower protection legislation. The groups say new measures are needed to restore what they consider Congress' original intent in drafting the 1989 whistleblower law, which, since 1994, has been weakened by a series of rulings by the Federal Circuit Court.

"We sincerely hope that all candidates for president will publicly endorse civil rights for whistleblowers and use their positions to ensure that by next Labor Day all whistleblowers are finally protected under a federal law," Kohn said.