Dear Op Ed News Readers: We need your help to pass Whistleblower Protection, and end corruption!
I have been writing to you for the last year, urging passage of the most important anti-corruption bill in US history. This bill would protect the public, protect our patients, protect free speech, protect our way of life. In short, this bill, the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) must be passed immediately. Versions have passed House and Senate. Now, we are just inches from the finish line, to have a glorious victory for good government. But we need you to make this happen.
Readers of OpEd news are among the best informed and most savvy of the nation. I believe that every single reader should contact us and join the petition to pass the WPA. Every reader should get every local advocacy group, every rotary group, every faith group, every reading group. In short, we need every group in the country that favors a return to American democracy to support the WPA.
Op Ed readers don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk. That is why I know each of you wants to be part of the coming victory.
182 good government groups have already joined. But Op Ed readers could generate ten times this number overnight. Why not start a chain email? Please send this article to ten local organizations each. Then, ask each group to send the article to ten more. There is no reason we can't reach every local group in the country. We have the national groups signed on. Now we need the local chapters. That is where the power is.
Come on Op Ed Readers! Let's show our muscle!
Contact: Tom Devine, GAP Legal Director 202.408.0034 ext 124, cell 240.888.4080 whistle47@aol.com
Contact: Adam Miles, GAP Legislative Representative 202.408.0034 ext 132, cell 202.276.2007 adamm@whistleblower.org
It is now urgent that every single local and national group that favors good government sign the bipartisan demand to pass the Whistleblower Protection Act! We need you! Please contact your rotary, your local advocacy group, your local coalition. American free speech, American democracy, and our society's integrity are on the line.
Here is the letter. Read it. Endorse it. Pass it to everyone. Thanks.
182 Public Interest Organizations Support Swift Action to
Restore Strong, Comprehensive Whistleblower Rights
September 8, 2008
To: Sen. Joseph Lieberman; Sen. Susan Collins; Sen. Daniel Akaka; Sen. George Voinovich; Rep. Henry Waxman; Rep. Tom Davis; Rep. Todd Platts; Rep. Chris Van Hollen
The undersigned organizations, representing millions of Americans, write to support the completion of the landmark, eight-year legislative effort to restore a credible Whistleblower
Protection Act. We offer our support to expeditiously conclude the process of reconciling House and Senate passed versions of this vital good government legislation, H.R. 985 and S. 274.
Unfortunately, every month that passes has very tangible consequences for scores of whistleblowers who still lack viable legal rights. In just the first three months of this year, since both chambers passed their versions of the legislation, whistleblowers have a 2-49 win-loss record 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 2-203 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,
Adele Kushner, Executive Director
Action for a Clean Environment
Dan Lawn, President
*Alaska Forum on Environmental Responsibility
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Ben Smilowitz, Director
Disaster Accountability Project
James J. Murtagh, Jr., President
*Doctors for Open Government
Thea Harvey, Executive Director
*Economists for Peace and Security
Lisa Walker, executive director
Education Writers Association
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
John Richard
Essential Information
George Anderson
Ethics in Government Group (EGG)
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
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
Molly Johnson, Area Coordinator
Grandmothers for Peace, San Luis Obispo County Chapter
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
Helen Salisbury, M.D.
Health Integrity Project
Vanessa Pierce, Executive Director
*Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah)
Gerry Pollet
*Heart of America Northwest
Doug Tjapkes, President
*Humanity for Prisoners
Scott Armstrong, Executive Director
*Information Trust
Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., President
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
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.
James Love
*Knowledge Ecology International
Jonathon Moseley, Executive Director
*Legal Affairs Council, Fairfax Virginia
James Plummer
Liberty Coalition
Greg Mello, Executive Director
*Los Alamos Study Group
Jill McElheney, Founder
Micah's Mission
Ministry to Improve Childhood & Adolescent Health
James Landrith, Founder
The Multiracial Activist
Marsha Coleman-Abedayo, Chair
*No FEAR Coalition
Larry Fisher, Founder
National Accountant Whistleblower Coalition
Tinsley H. Davis, Executive Director
National Association of Science Writers
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.
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
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
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
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
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
Vina Colley, President
*Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS)
David Banisar, Director, FOI Project
Privacy International
Robert Bulmash, President
*Private Citizen, Inc.
Ronald J Riley, President
Professional Inventor's Alliance
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
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)
Shane Jimerfield, Executive Director
*Siskiyou Project
Andrea Shipley, Executive Director
*Snake River Alliance
Matthew Petty, Executive Director
*The Social Sustenance Organization
Clint Brewer, President
Society of Professional Journalists
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
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)
Dr. Jeffrey Fudin, Founder
Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition
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
Linda Lewis, Director
Whistleblowers USA
John C. Horning, Executive Director
*WildEarth Guardians
Kim Witczak
WoodyMatters
Cc: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
House Minority Leader John Boehner
