Federal Daily - March 16, 2009

Whistleblower Protection Bill Reintroduced in House

Reps. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Todd Platts, R-Pa., on March 12 reintroduced a bill that would, if passed into law, bolster protections for federal employees who report waste, fraud and abuse. The new bill is identical to language that was included as an amendment in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, that was adopted by the House. The protections were stripped from the final bill in the Senate. Lawmakers said they hope the protections will be approved by Congress as a stand-alone bill. The legislation is drawn from the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, H.R. 985, which passed the House by a large bipartisan vote of 331-94 in the last session of Congress. The bill would roll back a series of judicial rulings that have weakened existing whistleblower rights, give whistleblowers new rights to fight reprisals, and expand protection to employees not covered by current statute. Under the bill, whistleblowers would have access to federal district courts in the event the Merit Systems Protection Board failed to act on their claims within 180 days. “I believe it is important that we restore and strengthen the statutory protections given to whistleblowers under federal law,” said Platts. “Being a whistleblower takes courage.” The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) praised the bill. “The introduction of this legislation comes on the heels of the passage of an economic stimulus bill that is injecting billions of dollars of taxpayer money into the economy,” said NTEU President Colleen Kelley. The Government Accountability Project (GAP), a whistleblower advocacy group, also endorsed the bill. “This is a badly-needed accountability measure that follows through on President Obama’s campaign promise for federal whistleblowers,” said Tom Devine, GAP Legal Director Project. To see more, go to: http://vanhollen.house.gov/HoR/MD08/Newsroom/Press+
Release+by+Date/2009/3-12-09+Van+Hollen+Announces+
Whistleblower +Protection+Enhancement+Act+of+2009.htm,
www.nteu.org or www.whistleblower.org

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Obama Considers Guard Deployment at Border

Responding to calls for more security at the border, President Obama is considering deploying National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border to control escalating drug-related violence in Mexico that is threatening to spill into this country, according to published accounts. “We’re going to examine whether, and if, National Guard deployments would make sense and in what circumstances they would make sense as part of this overall review of our border situation,” Obama told reporters March 11, according to an account by the American Forces Press Service. The White House does not release transcripts of media roundtable sessions. The president’s statement comes one day after a coalition of House lawmakers urged him to revive a Bush administration program— Operation Jump Start—that once deployed National Guard troops along the southern border. The program ran from June 2006 to July 2008, dispatching as many as 6,000 National Guard members to Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas to make the border more secure for legal immigration and commerce until the Border Patrol could boost its own ranks. Meanwhile, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates requesting 250 more National Guard soldiers to be posted along the 350-mile Arizona-Mexico border. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is considering a similar action. To see more, go to: www.ngb.army.mil/news/archives/2009/03/031209-Obama.aspx.

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Connolly Calls for Pay Equity for Civilian Workers, Military

Citing concerns over pay equity, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., asked President Obama and House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., to provide equal pay hikes for military and civilian federal employees in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 budget. Obama’s proposed FY 2010 budget offers a military pay raise of 2.9 percent for next year, but only a 2 percent hike for federal civilian workers. For almost every year over the last two decades, the government has granted equal pay raises to both federal and civilian workers, Connolly said in a March 11 letter. “Our military men and women have certainly distinguished themselves throughout history, and particularly during this time of war,” Connolly wrote, “but we cannot forget the critical role civilian employees play in providing logistical support and other vital services to our military.” Connolly, a member of the House Budget Committee, also noted that with the aging of the federal workforce—almost 40 percent of federal workers will be eligible for retirement this decade—equal pay is an important civilian recruiting tool. Connelly said he believed there was bipartisan support to include pay parity in the final budget. Connolly’s Web site is at: http://connolly.house.gov.

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