Congress United on Whistleblower Protections

Members on both sides of the aisle are seeking clarity from the new administration on how recent directives may impact federal employees and their perceptions of whistleblower rights.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC), as well as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), issued a letter last week to White House, requesting clarification.

“The White House is in a position to alleviate any potential confusion for federal employees regarding whether these recent memoranda implicate whistleblower protection laws,” the letter states. “As the new administration seeks to better understand what problems exist in this area, this is an appropriate time to remind employees about the value of protected disclosures to Congress and inspectors general in accordance with whistleblower protection laws.”

Prior to the issuance of this letter, Democrats sent a letter of their own to the White House. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) spearheaded the letter, which stated:

“For more than a century, Congress has protected the rights of federal employees to communicate with Congress about waste, fraud, and abuse in the Executive Branch. We urge you to immediately rescind all policies on employee communications that do not comply with the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act and other federal statutes.”