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House Hearings Set For Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection


WEBWIRE

Government Oversight and Reform Committee To Meet On May 14, 2009 At Rayburn Office Building Room 2154


On Thursday May 14th at 10 AM, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will be holding a hearing “Protecting the Public from Waste, Fraud and Abuse: H.R. 1507, the Whistleblower Protecting Enhancement Act of 2009.” Please visit the National Whistleblowers Center website: www.whistleblowers.org for updated information on the hearing.

This is a critical hearing in which whistleblower advocates will present testimony rebutting the extensive backroom lobbying of federal executive agencies bent on defeating federal employee whistleblower protections.

In March 2009, as part of the federal stimulus package, the House enacted whistleblower protections for all federal employees. Federal executive agencies, which are one of the last segments of the federal economy to escape meaningful whistleblower protections, spiked the bill in the Senate and it was struck from the final stimulus package. The whistleblower advocacy community is continuing to urge Congress to pass federal employee whistleblower protections this year.

Bunnatine Greenhouse, who circulated a strong letter calling for all Americans to push for federal employee whistleblower protections, will be one of the witnesses at the hearing. The National Whistleblowers Center is urging every American to contact their elected representatives and urge them to attend the hearings and support federal employee whistleblower protections. To sign the NWC’s petition click here.

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS

The NWC is making Halliburton whistleblower Bunnatine Greenhouse and three experienced whistleblower advocates available for interviews:

Bunnatine Greenhouse stood alone in opposing the approval of a highly improper multi-billion dollar no bid contract to Halliburton for the reconstruction of Iraq. In retaliation for her courage she was removed from her position as the highest-ranking civilian-contracting official at the Army Corps of Engineers. Ms. Greenhouse will be testifying on why whistleblower protection is essential to deter fraud and wasteful military spending. For more information on Bunnatine Greenhouse see the link below.

David K. Colapinto is the General Counsel of the National Whistleblowers Center and will be testifying about the need to protect national security whistleblowers. Mr. Colapinto’s clients have included Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, who blew the whistle on FBI abuses at the first World Trade Center bombing, Sibel Edmonds, the translator who the Bush Administration invoked the state secrets privilege in order to have her whistleblower case dismissed. Mr. Colapinto has represented whistleblowers since 1988 and is the co-author of Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees. For information on David K. Colapinto see the link below.

Michael D. Kohn is the President of the National Whistleblowers Center. He has represented whistleblowers since 1985 in numerous high profile cases, and is currently lead counsel for Ms. Greenhouse. Mr. Kohn is the co-author of The Labor Lawyers Guide to the Rights and Responsibilities of Employee Whistleblowers and Whistleblower Law: A Guide to Legal Protections for Corporate Employees. Mr. Kohn will be at the hearing assisting Ms. Greenhouse. For more information on Michael D. Kohn see the link below.

Stephen M. Kohn is the Executive Director of the National Whistleblowers Center and one of the nation’s foremost experts in whistleblower law. He has written six books on whistleblowing, including the first legal treatise ever published on the subject. Since 1984, Mr. Kohn has successfully represented whistleblowers in numerous cases high profile cases, and currently represents Bassem Youssef, a unit chief in the FBI’s counterterrorism division with key management responsibilities related to the National Security Agency’s Domestic Surveillance Program. For more information on Stephen M. Kohn go to www.whistleblowers.org.








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