Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act Passes Senate

The Whistleblower Protection Act I co-authored in 1989 is on its way to getting a much needed update and restoring the original intent of the law.  The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act passed the Senate last week and is now headed to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Since being elected to the Senate, I’ve listened to whistleblowers and worked with them to help unlock secrets deep within the closets of the federal bureaucracy.  Whether it’s the Defense Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Food and Drug Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, whistleblowers are true patriotic citizens who are often retaliated against for having the courage to come forward and reveal waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.

This update to the Whistleblower Protection Act takes big steps forward for all federal government employees.  It restores the congressional intent behind the law, but it is especially important in establishing whistleblower protection for employees in the intelligence community for the first time, without endangering national security.  It clarifies the protections for whistleblowers, makes it easier to file whistleblower appeals, provides coverage for Transportation Security Administration employees, authorizes jury trials in certain instances, protects disclosure of classified information to members of Congress by Intelligence Community employees, and allows employees to challenge the revocation of a security clearance when it is revoked in retaliation for whistleblowing.  These common sense reforms will strengthen our national security by ensuring that wrongdoing is reported to Congress and that these patriotic individuals are protected for doing so.  

The Whistleblower Protection Act is just part of my efforts as an advocate for whistleblowers.  In 1986 I offered amendments to the President Lincoln-era federal False Claims Act to empower private sector whistleblowers.  Since then, the False Claims Act has brought back more than $30 billion to the federal treasury, and has deterred even more fraudulent activity. In 2009, in coordination with Senator Patrick Leahy, we worked to pass legislation to shore up whistleblower protections in the False Claims Act that had been eroded by the courts after years of litigation by defense and healthcare contractors.

I’ll continue to fight for additional improvements to ensure that we have strong legislation to ensure that whistleblowers are protected for coming forward with good faith allegations.

May 14, 2012