Date: 2007-03-14
Speaker: TODD PLARTS (republican)
Chamber: H

CHRIS VAN HOLLEN. and THOMAS DAVIS. and certainly a number of the total of 29 cosponsors. and the fact that this committee voted the whistleblower protection out unanimously. We who are members of the Homeland Security Committee. along with Chairman THOMPSON. and I know we have been working on this with the ranking member as well. stand in support of this legislation. I know that we will be yielded time shortly. but I am delighted to be able to share my thoughts on the importance of H.R. 985. which would extend whistleblower protection to F~deral workers who specialize in national security issues. It would also ensure that employees who work for companies with government contracts are protected when they report waste. fraud. and abuse of U.S. taxpayer dollars. . Protecting scientific whistleblowers. this legislation would extend whistleblower protection to Federal employees who disclose actions related to. the validity of federally funded scientific research and analysts. Many of us recognize and remember the Los Alamos incident of a couple years ago still was never. if you will. explored and never settled. This also would override several court and administrative decisions that undermine existint whistleblower protection. provide whistleblower access to Federal District Courts if the Merit Systems Protection Board or the Inspector General does not take action on their claims within 180 days. .This is good news to the Homeland Security Department and particularly the transportation security officers. Contrary to assertions by the opponents of the bill. TSOs do not have any meaningful whistleblower rights. The truth is. TSOs do not enjoy full whistleblower protection. specifically. transportation security officers enjoy little more .than minimal whistleblower protections deriving from a memorandum of understanding entered into when the TSA was still part of the Department of Transportation. Under the MQU. screeners can only bring a claim to the office of a special counsel. they do not have the right of appeal or to seek independent review by another agency or court. It is important to note that in 2004 the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled in a case. Schott v. Department 6f Homeland Security. that the Homeland Security Act does not provide TSA screeners the right to bring a claim before the MSPB. even though such rights were enjoyed by all other department employees. This is crucial. I have been working on this issue for quite a while. The No Fear Act. which indicated or had to do with discrimination against workers at the Environmental Protection Agency. generated. even though it is a bill on discrimination of Federal employees that generated from whistleblower employees at the Environmental Protection Agency that didnt have the necessary protection to talk about issues that dealt with regular issues of research. but also on the issue of security. Let me quickly say that the EPA had a similar problem where it also faced no protection of those employees. and the No Fear Act came out of that which had to do with racial discrimination against Federal employees. But NASA. for example. legislation that I wrote dealing with the International Space Station to give protection to NASA employees to save lives and also to protect them in case of issues that they were dealing with relating to national security. All employees should feel free to tell the truth. All employees should be protected. particularly Federal employees. particularly in this time in the backdrop of 9/11. Tell the truth. be protected. and the whistleblower protection will allow us to run this country in the right way. save lives. and have employees that are Federal Government employees gives us the fact so we can do the right thing. Support H.R. Mr. Chairman. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 985. the "Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007." which extends whistleblower protections to federal employees and contractors working in the area of national security and intelligence. including screeners at the Transportatidn Security Administration (TSA). Mr. Chairman. there is a tremendous need to protect our best sources for identifying waste fraud and abusefederal workers and contractors. H.R. 985 treats Transportation Security Officers (TSOs). sometimes called "screeners." the same as all other Department employees by giving them full whistleblower protections. which TSOs currently do not have. Mr. Chairman. contrary to assertions by opponents of the bill. TSOs do not have any meaningful whistleblower nghts. The truth is TSOs do not enjoy full whistleblower protections. Specifically. TSOs enjoy little more than minimal whistleblower protections deriving from a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entered into when TSA was still part of the Department of Transportation. Under this MOU. screeners can only bring a claim to the Office of Special Counsel. they do not have a right of appeal or to seek independent review by another agency or court. " Mr. Chairman. in 2004. the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ruled in Schott v. Department of Homeland Security. that the Homeland Security Act. does not provide TSA screeners the right to bring a claim before the MSPB. even though such rights were enjoyed by all other Department employees. Thus. as you can see Mr. Chairman. TSOs are treated differently than other Department of Homeland Security personnelincluding fellow employees within TSA. This bill allows a whistleblower to seek relief in federal circuit court. if his or her claim has not been acted upon within 6 months. In addition. H.R. 985 permits the whistleblower to bring an appeal on their case to any federal circuit court of appeals having in personam jurisdiction. not just the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as is the case under current law. I am also pleased that this bill provides the same rights to the Departments Office of Intelligence and Analysis employees as it does to intelligence employees in other agencies. I do not have to tell you. Mr. Chairman. that whistleblowers in the intelligence community must be careful when they disclose certain information. H.R. 985 set forth procedures which enable whistleblowers to assert their claims. while at the same time adequately protecting any sensitive or classified information involved with such claims. Mr. Chairman. I note that H.R. 1. which passed the House in January. seeks to improve the poor morale problem at TSA by giving TSO employees whistleblower and collective bargaining rights. These collective bargaining rights are comparable to other law enforcement officers and others within the Department. such as the Border Patrol. Customs and Border Protection Officers. Mr. Chairman. as a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection. I am proud to support H.R. 985. This bill will help the federal government keep make America safer and more secure by encouraging and protecting employees who come forward to report waste. fraud. wrongdoing. or abuse of vital and limited government resources. I urge all members to join me in voting for this important legislation.