OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Date: Feb. 6, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Legislative Branch


STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - February 06, 2007)

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By Mr. GRASSLEY:

S. 508. A bill to amend the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to apply whistleblower protections available to certain executive branch employees to legislative branch employees, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise to reintroduce the Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007, which will extend whistleblower protections currently available to certain executive branch employees to legislative branch employees.

Presently, executive branch employees are shielded from retaliation for exposing waste, fraud, or abuse by the Whistleblower Protection Act. The bill I'm introducing today simply extends those same protections to legislative branch employees.

A theme that has dominated this new Congress, as well as the elections this past November, is accountability and responsibility in Washington. I have fought hard for whistleblowers over the years because they are key in our efforts to ensure government accountability to the people we are sent here to serve. In most instances, the only reason we discover waste or fraud is because employees are brave enough to stand up to the wrongdoers and expose their offenses. Without these whistleblowers, the American taxpayer would continue to foot the bill.

The Office of Compliance has called for these changes on numerous occasions in recent years, and they are very supportive of this bill. We have already taken the steps to protect whistleblowers in the executive branch. It doesn't make sense not to extend these same protections to whistleblowers in our own backyard. My bill will, very simply, give congressional employees the same protections that workers in the other branches of government already possess.

I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill to ensure that those who help us in the fight to hold government accountable are not punished for their efforts.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

S. 508

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http://thomas.loc.gov/

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