Congressional Action
On March 15, 2005, H.R. 1317, the Federal Employees Protection of Disclosures Act, was introduced by Rep. Todd Platts It was redrafted to incorporate some minor phrasing adjustments and was reintroduced as H.R. 3097 on June 28, 2005. It was immediately referred to the House Committee on Government Reform, but as of mid-2007, no further action had been taken on the redraft.
On June 29, 2006, H.R. 1317 was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services's Subcommittee on Readiness and to the House Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Management, Integration, and Oversight. Both committees granted extensions for further consideration of the bill, with the last one being a three-week extension granted on November 17, 2006 by the House Committee on Armed Services. The Homeland Security committee was discharged the same day. As of mid-2007, no further action had been taken.
If enacted as law, the bill would clarify the categories of disclosure covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act, reduce the standard of proof of illicit activity that a whistleblower needs to have before they are entitled to the law's protection, outlaw non-disclosure agreements for federal employees that do not include exemptions for whistleblowers, or that limit other disclosures allowed under open government legislation, and increase the burden of proof needed to discipline managers who allegedly retaliate against those making disclosures. The bill also calls for a study of security clearance revocations to be conducted and a report on the study delivered to the House Committee on Government Reform.
In a letter to the NSWBC, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) praised the coalition and pledged his support for legislation protecting national security whistleblowers:
- "Let me state unequivocally that all federal government workers deserve whistleblower protection, none more so than national security whistleblowers. ...Our own government has concluded that they can be trusted to work on the most important law enforcement and intelligence projects in today’s post-9/11 environment. These officials are critical to our national defense. …For these reasons, I favor expanding the Whistleblower Protection Act to cover these employees and contractors as fully as possible, as well as making the retaliatory revocation of a security clearance a prohibited personnel practice."
Read more about this topic: National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
Famous quotes related to congressional action:
“The veto is a President’s Constitutional right, given to him by the drafters of the Constitution because they wanted it as a check against irresponsible Congressional action. The veto forces Congress to take another look at legislation that has been passed. I think this is a responsible tool for a president of the United States, and I have sought to use it responsibly.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)