SALON

Tuesday, Dec 21, 2010 11:45 PM UTC

GOP slows whistle-blower protection

Incoming oversight chairman Darrell Issa says intelligence exceptions are needed and WikiLeaks response is unclear

By

Topics: U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Party, WikiLeaks,

House Democrats scrambled on Tuesday to salvage legislation that would bar federal agencies from punishing employees who report corruption, waste and mismanagement after Republicans linked the bill to the WikiLeaks scandal.

In hopes of securing needed GOP support, Democrats offered to strip from the bill provisions that extend whistle-blower protections to workers at U.S. intelligence agencies — seen as a major concession by backers of the bill. Even though its supporters say the legislation makes classified disclosures through WikiLeaks or other outlets illegal, Republicans had complained it still might encourage leaks by employees in the most sensitive government jobs.

Even that concession may not be enough to sway House Republicans, who see no reason to rush the legislation before Congress adjourns for the year.

A spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who next month becomes chairman of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said GOP lawmakers contacted the congressman with their worries about the Obama administration’s plan to deal with WikiLeaks. They also wanted to know whether the legislation included provisions to block further disclosures.

“There’s a lot of ambiguity out there about what the administration is or isn’t going to do on WikiLeaks,” said spokesman Frederick Hill. “I think that’s really creating a lot of concern.”

Three years ago, Issa and more than 100 other Republicans had voted for a version of whistle-blower protection legislation that ultimately didn’t make it through Congress.

In a Dec. 16 letter to Issa, a coalition of public interest groups urged Issa to back the new bill, saying “efforts to draw a connection between WikiLeaks and this good government measure are misguided.”

On Monday, one of the coalition members, the Project on Government Oversight, was more critical of Issa.

“We are disappointed that Mr. Issa has flip-flopped on the bill he used to support and instead is perpetuating the myth that this bill would protect WikiLeaks,” the Project said in a statement posted on its Web site.

Without the national security provisions, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act provides expanded whistle-blower protections for civil service employees outside the intelligence agencies, including thousands of Transportation Security Administration baggage screeners and headquarters staff. The rights also extend to employees who challenge the censorship or misrepresentation of federal research.

Whistle-blowers outside the intelligence agencies would also be able to seek a jury trial in federal court to appeal dismissals or demotions.

Losing the national security provisions would be a significant blow to the White House and the public interest coalition that spent months working with the House and Senate to shape the bill. With the GOP taking control of the House in January, supporters of the legislation expect a less sympathetic climate if they’re forced to start anew.

In an e-mailed statement, White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said the “administration has been working to resolve the objections raised by the minority in the House, and we will continue to do so.”

The Senate approved the bill on Dec. 10. House Democrats had wanted to pass the measure before adjourning for the year under a procedure used to pass non-controversial bills quickly. But a two-thirds vote is required, which meant roughly 40 Republicans were needed.

Changing the Senate bill would shift the procedural picture. If the Republicans agree to the scaled-down bill, the House could pass it in short order. But it would have to go back to the Senate for final approval because of the changes. And that may not happen because there is so little time left before adjournment.

—-

Online:

Project on Government Oversight: http://pogo.org/

——

Online:

http://pogo.org/

More Richard Lardner.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 3 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations