Following the Rules Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 657, the Follow the Rules Act, introduced by Congressman Sean Duffy of Wisconsin.

Less than 1 month ago marked the 28th anniversary of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. That bill was a landmark accomplishment establishing enforcement mechanisms to protect those who help identify waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government. It also protects those who, in good conscience, refuse orders that could violate the law.

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit considered the case of Dr. Timothy Rainey. Dr. Rainey, an employee of the State Department, refused an order to violate the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
Dr. Rainey's supervisors subsequently took away his responsibilities as a contracting officer representative.

He argued it was because of his refusal to obey the order. Thus, the Federal Circuit considered whether Federal managers can retaliate against employees who refuse to obey an order that would violate a government rule or regulation rather than a statute.

Unfortunately, the Federal Circuit has a record of misinterpreting the law on whistleblowers. That is precisely what happened here. The court held such employees were not protected. Ironically, the court relied on a significant 2015 Supreme Court decision, DHS v. MacLean, which reaffirmed the protections of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

The Federal Circuit's decision puts Federal employees in an impossible situation. It forces them to choose between following their superior's orders or following the agency's rules or regulations. In many ways, an agency's rules and regulations are the standing orders of the head of the agency.

My colleague, Representative Duffy, introduced the Follow the Rules Act to fix this problem. H.R. 657 makes clear that employees are protected from retaliation for disobeying orders that would violate an agency rule or regulation. Refusing to obey such orders is exactly the type of action for which Federal employees should be protected from retaliation.

This legislation has bipartisan, bicameral support. It passed the House by voice vote near the end of the last Congress.

I hope that this legislation will be signed into law this Congress and Federal employees will be protected in trying to do the right thing. I thank Representative Duffy for his leadership on this issue.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source