Advocates seek broader protections for chemical plant whistleblowers
Language in chemical security bill does not offer enough outlets for reporting wrongdoing, watchdog groups say.
Legislative language intended to protect employees who report perceived wrongdoing at chemical plants is too narrow, according to whistleblower advocates.
The 2006 Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act (H.R. 5695), passed by the House Homeland Security Committee late Friday, would expand the Homeland Security Department's authority to regulate chemical facilities. One provision would grant employees whistleblower protections similar to those afforded federal workers.
But whistleblower advocates and Capitol Hill staffers said the wording fails to offer the same protection to contract workers at the plants. For example, it would not cover security personnel working for companies whose services the plant leases.
The House version also would leave potential chemical plant whistleblowers with the option of reporting allegations to the DHS secretary's office. The department's inspector general office would not be offered as an outlet, as it is for many DHS employees.
Whistleblower groups argue the top investigative authority in DHS should be included as a choice for chemical plant workers to report potential wrongdoing.
"This is not sound policy," said Beth Daley, director of investigations at the watchdog group the Project on Government Oversight. She said keeping the inspector general involved in facility oversight, but out of touch with potential whistleblowers, is "a result of lobbying by various industries."
The bill calls upon DHS' inspector general to -- a year after enactment -- present a report to Congress on the adequacy of chemical facilities' security.
"There have never been [standards] in place for chemical plant security," a source familiar with the legislation said. No DHS workers are at chemical facilities now, the source said.
Chemical security legislation on the Senate side (S. 2145) contains whistleblower protections similar to those in the House measure. The Senate version would assign the task of handling whistleblower complaints to the DHS secretary's office, which in turn would report them to the Government Accountability Office upon request.
A DHS spokesman declined to address the chemical security measures' whistleblower protection language specifically.
In explaining why the language was not designed to cover contract security workers, a Capitol Hill staffer, who asked not to be named, likened such workers to the Transportation Security Administration's baggage and passenger screeners. Both groups deal with day-to-day security operations that are sensitive if widely exposed, the staffer said.