Senator Seeks Federal Union Assistance in Identifying Claims of Political Interference
Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) has requested assistance from the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) in documenting any accusations of mistreatment of federal employees, noting that his office has received a surge of complaints recently. As ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Senator Toomey is specifically seeking whistleblowers from agencies under his committee’s jurisdiction.
The Banking Committee has jurisdiction over many of the agencies at which NTEU represents employees, including the Treasury Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To solicit information on instances of misconduct, Senator Toomey requested that NTEU President Tony Reardon send his office's contact details and specific channels for whistleblowers to union's members.
“We appreciate Senator Toomey’s strong reminder that federal employees are encouraged to report to members of Congress any harassment, discrimination or abuse in the workplace,” Reardon stated, “NTEU stands ready to assist our members and Congress in addressing the concerns raised by confidential whistleblowers who work for the federal government, and make sure the federal workplace is free from unlawful behavior and prohibited personnel actions.”
Earlier this year, the Banking Committee launched a whistleblower resource to encourage individuals possessing information about wasteful or fraudulent spending by the federal government, abuse of federal programs or other misconduct within the federal government to come forward with their information.
“In an effort to help address any federal employee mistreatment, I request that you advise employees at the agencies you represent that they may confidentially contact my Committee staff with any information they possess concerning misconduct or abuse, such as harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, as well as the wasteful use of taxpayer dollars and fraud in federal programs,” the Senator wrote.
In June, a number of current and former CFPB employees alleged that the Biden administration took unusual measures to place its own hires into senior positions at the bureau and push out Trump Administration officials. Bureau incentives included early retirement and investigations targeting career senior executives, including approximately half a dozen of the highest-ranking nonpolitical staffers.
