262 Public Interest Organizations Support Swift Action to Restore Strong, Comprehensive Whistleblower Rights
January 29, 2009
To: President Barack Obama;
Senator Daniel Akaka,
Senator Susan Collins,
Senator Joseph Lieberman,
Senator George Voinovich,
Rep. Edolphus Towns,
Rep. Darrell Issa,
Rep. Chris Van Hollen
The undersigned organizations and corporations, representing millions of Americans, write to support the completion of the landmark, nine-year legislative effort to restore credible whistleblower rights for government employees. We offer our support to expeditiously re-initiate the process of reconciling House and Senate passed versions of this vital good government legislation, which both chambers passed last Congress as H.R. 985 and S. 274. Whistleblower protection is a foundation for any change in which the public can believe. It does not matter whether the issue is economic recovery, prescription drug safety, environmental protection, infrastructure spending, national health insurance, or foreign policy. We need conscientious public servants willing and able to call attention to waste, fraud and abuse on behalf of the taxpayers.
Unfortunately, every month that passes has very tangible consequences for federal government whistleblowers, because none have viable rights. Last year an average of 16 whistleblowers lost every month in initial decisions from administrative hearings at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). For final rulings by the MSPB, the record is 2- 53 under the current Chair. Since January, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a monopoly on appellate review, has ruled against whistleblowers in another thirteen consecutive decisions on the merits, leaving a track record of 3-206 since October 1994 when Congress last strengthened the law.
We stand ready to provide any information that would help expedite the process, and to help you come to agreement on any unresolved issues. Any compromise should protect several critical provisions, which have already passed with overwhelming support. It is crucial that the final bill:
- Grant employees the right to a jury trial in federal court;
- Specifically protect federal scientists who report efforts to alter, misrepresent, or suppress federal research;
- Extend meaningful protections to FBI and intelligence agency whistleblowers;
- Strengthen protections for federal contractors, as strong as those provided to DoD contractors and grantees in last year’s defense authorization legislation;
- Extend meaningful protections to Transportation Security Officers (screeners);
- Neutralize the government’s use of the “state secrets” privilege;
- Bar the MSPB from ruling for an agency before whistleblowers have the opportunity to present evidence of retaliation;
- Provide whistleblowers the right to be made whole, including compensatory damages;
- Grant comparable due process rights to employees who blow the whistle in the course of a government investigation or who refuse to violate the law; and
- Remove the Federal Circuit’s monopoly on precedent-setting cases.
We know that your offices share the commitment of every group signing the letter below and we deeply appreciate the years of effort to create more accountability in government. Please let us know how we can participate to expeditiously complete this badly needed good government reform. Once the reconciled version becomes law, the real winners will be the public!
Sincerely,
Marcel Reid, Chair
ACORN 8
Adele Kushner, Executive Director
Action for a Clean Environment
Pamela Miller, Director
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Dan Lawn, President
Alaska Forum on Environmental Responsibility
Cindy Shogun, Executive Director
Alaska Wilderness League
Ryan Pleune, Outreach
Alice Ferguson Foundation
Susan Gordon, Director
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
Rochelle Becker, Executive Director
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
Gil Mileikowsky, M.D.
Alliance for Patient Safety
Linda Lipsen, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs
American Association for Justice (AAJ)
Mary Alice Baish, Acting Washington Affairs Representative
American Association of Law Libraries
F. Patricia Callahan, President and General Counsel
American Association of Small Property Owners
John W. Curtis, Ph.D., Director of Research and Public Policy
American Association of University Professors
Christopher Finan, president
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
Caroline Fredrickson, Director, Washington Legislative Office
American Civil Liberties Union
Michael D. Ostrolenk
American Conservative Defense Alliance
Dr. Paul Connett, Executive Director
American Environmental Health Studies Project, Inc.
John Gage, National President
American Federation of Government Employees
Charles M. Loveless, Director of Legislation
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee
Caitlin Love Hills, National Forest Program Director
American Lands Alliance
Jessica McGilvray, Assistant Director
American Library Association
Alexandra Owens, Executive Director
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Charlotte Hall, President
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Patricia Schroeder, President and CEO
Association of American Publishers
Ms. Bobbie Paul, Executive Director
Atlanta WAND (Women's Action for New Directions)
Samuel H. Sage, President
Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc.
Jay Stewart, Executive Director
Better Government Association
Matthew Fogg, First Vice-President
Blacks in Government
Nancy Talanian, Director
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Diane Wilson, President
Calhoun County Resource Watch
Peter Scheer, Executive Director
California First Amendment Association
Terry Franke, Executive Director
Californians Aware
Reece Rushing, Director of Regulatory and Information Policy
Center for American Progress
William Snape, Senior Counsel
Center for Biological Diversity
Charlie Cray, Director
Center for Corporate Policy
Gregory T. Nojeim, Senior Counsel and
Director, Project on Freedom, Security & Technology
Center for Democracy and Technology
Joseph Mendelson III, Legal Director
Center for Food Safety
J . Bradley Jansen, Director
Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights
Paul Kurtz, Chairman
Center for Inquiry
Robert E. White, President
Center for International Policy
Lawrence S. Ottinger, President
Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest
Merrill Goozner, Director
Integrity in Science
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Linda Lazarus, Director
Center to Advance Human Potential
Craig Williams, Director
Chemical Weapons Working Group & Common Ground
Phil Fornaci, Counselor
C.H.O.I.C.E.S.
Leonard Akers
Citizens Against Incineration at Newport
Evelyn M. Hurwich, President and Chair
Circumpolar Conservation Union
David B. McCoy, Executive Director
Citizen Action New Mexico
Doug Bandow, Vice President for Policy
Citizen Outreach
Deb Katz, Executive Director
Citizens Awareness Network
Barbara Warren, Executive Director
Citizens' Environmental Coalition
Elaine Cimino
Citizens for Environmental Safeguards
James Turner, Chairman of the Board
Citizens for Health
Michael McCormack, Executive Director
Citizens for Health Educational Foundation
Gerard Beloin
Citizens for Judicial Reform
Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
Anne Hemenway, Treasurer
Citizen's Vote, Inc.
Rick Piltz
Climate Science Watch
John Judge
Coalition on Political Assassinations
9/11 Research Project
Zena Crenshaw, 2nd Vice-Chair
3.5.7 Commission on Judicial Reform
Sarah Dufendach, Vice President for Legislative Affairs
Common Cause
Greg Smith, Co-Founder
Community Research
Clarissa Duran, Director
Community Service Organization del Norte
Joni Arends, Executive Director
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Lokesh Vuyyuru, MD, Founder
Concerned Citizens of Petersburg
Daniel Hirsch, Member, Executive Committee
Concerned Foreign Service Officers
Matthew Fogg, President
Congress Against Racism & Corruption in Law Enforcement (CARCLE)
Ellen Bloom, Director of Federal Policy
Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel
Consumers Union
Bob Shavelson, Director
Cook Inlet Keeper
Neil Takemoto, Director
CoolTown Betta Communities
Tonya Hennessey, Project Director
CorpWatch
Louis Wolf, Co-Founder
CovertAction Quarterly
John Issacs, Executive Director
Council for a Livable World
Anne Weismann, Chief Counsel
CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Cathy Harris, Founder, Executive Director
Customs Employees Against Discrimination Association
Mary Elizabeth Beetham, Director of Legislative Affairs
Defenders of Wildlife
Sue Udry, Director
Defending Dissent Foundation
Paul E. Almeida, President
Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
Courtney Dillard, Founder
Dillard-Winecoff Boutique Hotel
Ben Smilowitz, Director
Disaster Accountability Project
Dr. Patrick Campbell
Doctors against Fraud
Dr. Disamodha Amarasinghe
Doctors for National Healthcare
James J. Murtagh, Jr., President
Doctors for Open Government
Dr. John Raviotta
Doctors for Reform of JCAHO
Stephen D'Esposito, President
Earthworks
Larry Chang, Founder
EcolocityDC
Thea Harvey, Executive Director
Economists for Peace and Security
Lisa Walker, executive director
Education Writers Association
Mike Ewoll, Founder and Director
Energy Justice Network
Gregory Hile
EnviroJustice
Chuck Broscious, President
Environmental Defense Institute
Judith Robinson, Director of Programs
Environmental Health Fund
Peter Montague, Ph.D, Director
Environmental Research Foundation
Jason Zuckerman
The Employment Law Group
John Richard
Essential Information
George Anderson
Ethics in Government Group (EGG)
Bob Cooper
Evergreen Public Affairs
Gabe Bruno
FAA Whistleblowers Alliance
Robert Richie, Executive Director
FairVote
Janet Kopenhaver, Washington Representative
Federally Employed Women (FEW)
Steven Aftergood, Project Director
Federation of American Scientists
Marilyn Fitterman, Vice President
Feminists for Free Expression
Ellen Donnett, Administrative Director
Fluoride Action Network
Andrew D. Jackson, Asst. Campaign Coordinator
Focus-On-Indiana for Judicial Reform
Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director
Food and Water Watch
Bob Darby, Coordinator
Food Not Bombs/Atlanta
Andy Stahl
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE)
Tom Ferguson, Coordinator
Foundation for Global Community/Atlanta
Ruth Flower, Legislative Director
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)
Conrad Martin, Executive Director
Fund for Constitutional Government
Gail Naftalin, Owner
Gail’s Vegetarian Catering
Karyn Jones, Director
G.A.S.P
Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution
Gwen Marshall, Co-Chairman
Georgians for Open Government
Denny Larson, Executive Director
Global Community Monitor
Paul F. Walker, Ph.D., Legacy Program Director
Global Green USA
(The US Affiliate of Green Cross International, Mikhail Gorbachev, Chairman)
Bill Owens, President
The Glynn Environmental Coalition
Tom Devine, legal director
Government Accountability Project
Bill Hedden, Executive Director
Grand Canyon Trust
Molly Johnson, Area Coordinator
Grandmothers for Peace, San Luis Obispo County Chapter
Alexis Baden-Mayer
Grassroots Netroots Alliance
Luci Murphy
Gray Panthers of Metropolitan Washington
Alan Muller
Green Delaware
Jenefer Ellingston
Green Party of the United States
James C. Turner, Executive Director
HALT, Inc. — An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform
Tom Carpenter, Executive Director
Hanford Challenge
Arthur S. Shoor, President
Healthcare Consultants
Helen Salisbury, M.D.
Health Integrity Project
Vanessa Pierce, Executive Director
Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah)
Gerry Pollet
Heart of America Northwest
Liz Havstad, Chief of Staff
Hip Hop Caucus
Doug Tjapkes, President
Humanity for Prisoners
Keith Robinson, Interim President
Indiana Coalition for Open Government
Scott Armstrong, Executive Director
Information Trust
Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., President
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
Brenda Platt, Co-Director
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Donald Soeken, President
Integrity International
Michael McCray, Esq., Co-Chair
International Association of Whistleblowers
Mory Atashkar, Vice President
Iranian American Democratic Association
Mark S. Zaid
James Madison Project
John Metz, Executive Director
JustHealth
Brett Kimberlin, Director
Justice Through Music
Elizabeth Crowe, Director
Kentucky Environmental Foundation
Tom FitzGerald, Director
Kentucky Resources Council, Inc.
Kit Wood, Director
Kit’s Catering
James Love
Knowledge Ecology International
Josephine Carol Cicchini
LeapforPatientSafety
Jonathon Moseley, Executive Director
Legal Affairs Council
James Plummer
Liberty Coalition
Greg Mello, Executive Director
Los Alamos Study Group
Dr. Janette Parker
Medical Whistleblower
Ayize Sabater, Organizer
Mentors of Minorities in Education's Total Learning Cic-Tem
Jill McElheney, Founder
Micah's Mission
Ministry to Improve Childhood & Adolescent Health
Ellen Smith, Owner and Managing Editor
Mine Safety and Health News
Mary Treacy, Executive Director
The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information
Helen Haskell
Mothers Against Medical Error
Mark Cohn, President
MPD Productions, Inc.
James Landrith, Founder
The Multiracial Activist
Larry Fisher, Founder
National Accountant Whistleblower Coalition
Tinsley H. Davis, Executive Director
National Association of Science Writers
Jim L. Jorgenson, Deputy Executive Director
National Association of Treasury Agents
Dominick DellaSala, Ph.D., Executive Director of Programs and Chief Scientist
National Center for Conservation Science & Policy
Joan E. Bertin, Esq., Executive Director
National Coalition Against Censorship
Russell Hemenway, President
National Committee for an Effective Congress
Sally Greenberg, Executive Director
National Consumers League
Terisa E. Chaw, Executive Director
National Employment Lawyers Association
Andrew Jackson
National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc.
Kim Gandy, President
National Organization for Women
Paul Brown, Government Relations Manager
National Research Center for Women & Families
Sibel Edmonds, President and Founder
National Security Whistleblowers Coalition
Pete Sepp, Vice President for Policy & Communications
National Taxpayers Union
Colleen M. Kelley, National President
National Treasury Employees Union
Steve Kohn, President
National Whistleblower Center
Amy Allina
National Women's Health Network
Terrie Smith, Director
National Nuclear Workers For Justice
Doug Kagan, Chairman
Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom
Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Ron Marshall, Chairman
New Grady Coalition
Rick Engler, Director
New Jersey Work Environment Council
Caroline Heldman Ph.D., Director
New Orleans Women’s Shelter
Marsha Coleman-Abedayo, Chair
No FEAR Coalition
Nina Bell, J.D., Executive Director
Northwest Environmental Advocates
Alice Slater, Director
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, New York
David A. Kraft, Director
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
Michael Mariotte, Executive Director
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Jay Coghlan, Executive Director
Nuclear Watch New Mexico
Gwen Lachelt, Executive Director
Oil & Gas Accountability Project
Sean Moulton, Director, Federal Information Policy
OMB Watch
Nikuak Rai, Arts Director
One Common Unity
Rob Kall
Op Ed News
Patrice McDermott, Executive Director
OpenTheGovernment.org
Paul Loney, President
Oregon Wildlife Federation
Ellen Paul, Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
Joe Carson, Chair
P. Jeffrey Black, Co-Chair
OSC Watch Steering Committee
Judy Norsigian, Executive Director
Our Bodies Ourselves
Betsy Combier, President and Editor
Parentadvocates.org
Ashley Katz, MSW, Executive Director
Patient Privacy Rights
Blake Moore
Patient Quality Care Project
Dianne Parker
Patient Safety Advocates
Former Special Agent Darlene Fitzgerald
Patrick Henry Center
Paul Kawika Martin, Organizing, Political and PAC Director
Peace Action & Peace Action Education Fund
Bennett Haselton, Founder
Peacefire.org
Rev. Paul Alexander, Ph.D., Director
Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice
Michael McCally, MD, PhD, Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Dale Nathan, J.D., President
POPULAR, Inc.
Vina Colley, President
Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS)
David Banisar, Director, FOI Project
Privacy International
Evan Hendricks, Editor/Publisher
Privacy Times
Robert Bulmash, President
Private Citizen, Inc.
Ronald J Riley, President
Professional Inventor's Alliance
Dr. Paul Lapides
Professors for Integrity
Tim Carpenter, Director
Progressive Democrats of America
Danielle Brian, Executive Director
Project On Government Oversight
Ellen Thomas, Executive Director
Proposition One Committee
David Arkush, Director, Congress Watch
Public Citizen
Jeff Ruch, Executive Director
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Robert L. FitzPatrick, President
Pyramid Scheme Alert
Dr. Diana Post, President
Rachel Carson Council, Inc.
Lucy A. Dalglish, Executive Director
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Kirsten Moore, President and CEO
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
Tim Little, Executive Director
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment
John W. Whitehead, president
The Rutherford Institute
Adrienne Anderson, Coordinator
Safe Water Colorado and Nuclear Nexus Projects
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
(Whistleblower Anderson v Metro Wastewater)
Angela Smith, Coordinator
Seattle Healthy Environment Alliance (Seattle HEAL)
Dr. Roland Chalifoux
The Semmelweis Society International (SSI)
Rufus Kinney
Serving Alabama's Future Environment (SAFE)
Ed Hopkins, Director of Environmental Quality Program
Sierra Club
Shane Jimerfield, Executive Director
Siskiyou Project
Andrea Shipley, Executive Director
Snake River Alliance
Matthew Petty, Executive Director
The Social Sustenance Organization
Dave Aekens, National President
Society of Professional Journalists
Amy B. Osborne, President
Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries
Don Hancock, Director of Nuclear Waste Safety Program
Southwest Research and Information Center
Donna Rosenbaum, Executive Director
S.T.O.P. – Safe Tables Our Priority
Kevin Kuritzky
The Student Health Integrity Project (SHIP)
Daphne Wysham, Co-Director
Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN)
Jeb White, Executive Director
Taxpayers Against Fraud
Alec McNaughton
Team Integrity
Ken Paff, National Organizer
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
Thad Guyer, Partner
T.M. Guyer & Ayers & Friends
Marylia Kelley, Executive Director
Tri-Valley CAREs
Communities Against a Radioactive Environment
Paul Taylor
Truckers Justice Center
Francesca Grifo, Ph.D., Director
Scientific Integrity Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
Dane von Breichenruchardt, President
U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation
Dr. Joseph Parish
U.S. Environmental Watch
Gary Kalman, Director, Federal Legislative Office
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S.PIRG)
Nick Mangieri, President
Valor Press, Ltd.
Dr. Jeffrey Fudin, Founder
Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition
Sonia Silbert, Co-Director
Washington Peace Center
Nada Khader, Foundation Director
WESPAC Foundation
Gloria G. Karp, Co-Chair
Westchester Progressive Forum
Mabel Dobbs, Chair
Livestock Committee
Western Organization of Resource Councils
Ann Harris, Executive Director
We the People, Inc
Janet Chandler, Co-Founder
Whistleblower Mentoring Project
Dan Hanley
Whistleblowing United Pilots Association
Linda Lewis, Director
Whistleblowers USA
John C. Horning, Executive Director
WildEarth Guardians
Tracy Davids, Executive Director
Wild South
Kim Witczak
WoodyMatters
Tom Z. Collina, Executive Director
20/20 Vision
Paula Brantner, Executive Director
Workplace Fairness
Cc: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
House Minority Leader John Boehner