Federal Insider: Bipartisan Hill leaders warn White House on whistleblowers

Is it divine intervention or just a fortuitous coincidence that congressional defense of federal whistleblowers comes as the two-week-old Trump administration is making government employees nervous?

There is no direct evidence the Almighty looked down at the nation and determined this place needs help, though that certainly is the case. Fortunately, there is strong bipartisan congressional support for federal employees who report wrongdoing. Some of that support was evident through a coincidence in timing. Other moves were in reaction to President Trump’s heavy hand.

In case the rookie in the ways of government hasn’t figured it out yet, Republicans told him whistleblowers can be “powerful allies.”

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee demonstrated its fondness for whistleblowers by approving legislation Thursday that would tighten their protections. The day before, a committee hearing marked five years of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012. The committee’s actions reaffirm the importance of protecting whistleblowers in the face of menacing administration conduct.

The Follow the Rules Act, which would close a gap in whistleblower protections, advanced on a voice vote with no objections heard. The bill would provide protection to workers who speak up after refusing a manager’s direction to violate rules or regulations. Current law provides that protection for those who were instructed to violate the law.

The committee also approved legislation that would strengthen measures concerning agency nondisclosure policies, aka gag orders, that restrict the ability of federal workers to communicate with Congress, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and inspectors general.

On Wednesday, experts told the committee hearing about the importance and accomplishments of the 2012 law that strengthened whistleblower protections. “This law has lived up to its name,” said Eric Bachman, OSC’s deputy special counsel. “It has significantly enhanced OSC’s ability to protect federal employees from retaliation.”

The relevance of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act and both measures approved Thursday was underscored by recent news of Trump administration gag orders and his press secretary’s harsh rebuke of State Department employees who used a long-established agency channel to complain about Trump’s immigration executive order.

“Unfortunately, it appears that the Trump administration — in its first week — has already violated the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act,” said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.), the committee’s ranking Democrat. “Just last week — only days after President Trump’s inauguration — we learned that federal agencies issued gag orders on federal employee communications, including their communications with Congress.”