ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 13, Number 54
July 26, 2004

In This Issue: Ask your Members for Real Protection for Federal Whistleblowers

Please call your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor and support The Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act (S. 2628) and ask your Representative to let House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) know that you want both a committee vote and a floor vote on similar legislation in the House before this Congress adjourns. Congress is on recess from Friday, 23 July, until Labor Day, allowing an opportunity to gather support before Congress reconvenes.

At its 2004 Annual Conference, ALA passed a resolution affirming its support for accountable government and the role of whistleblowers in reporting abuse, fraud, and waste in governmental activities and for legislative efforts to provide increased support and protection for whistleblowers in the Federal government. (CD# 20.7)

The Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act () would protect whistleblowers who come forward with "substantial evidence" of wrongdoing by federal agencies; provide a new avenue for employees to appeal agency decisions to deny or take away security clearances, and open up new and possibly more sympathetic courts to hear whistleblower appeals. According to Tom Devine, Legal Director for the Governmental Accountability Project (GAP), "This is a solid bill that gives government workers back the right to be public servants instead of silent bureaucrats. The legislation is a much-needed breakthrough against abuses of power that betray the public trust. It is unrealistic to expect federal workers to defend the public, if they can't defend themselves." 

The bill would amend the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) to ensure protection against reprisal for federal employees who bring government wrongdoing to light. On paper, this good government law was the strongest free speech law in history when unanimously approved by Congress in 1989 and unanimously strengthened in 1994. Subsequent court interpretations, however, have made the WPA a fatal trap for the unwary, with a staggering record of whistleblower defeat: only one out of 95 WPA claimants has prevailed on the merits in court appeals during the past ten years of appeals.

A 1999 ruling by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held that government workers only are protected against reprisal when they have "irrefragable" proof of official misconduct, a virtually impossible proof and a likely explanation for the poor track record of whistleblower victories in the court. The court also has ruled that the WPA does not protect federal workers when they expose misconduct related to their job duties, or when they are not the first person to raise the issue. S. 2628 would establish reasonable burdens of proof, fix these coverage problems, expand access to the courts, and close other due process loopholes.

The bill passed unanimously in the Governmental Affairs Committee. It has bipartisan co-sponsorship, including the support of Senate Governmental Affairs Chairman Susan Collins, R-Maine.

House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., has said he is interested in sponsoring similar legislation. He has promised ranking Democrat Henry Waxman a committee vote before Labor Day, and an all out push for a floor vote before adjournment. 


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