Government Accountability Project

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Government Accountability Project

National Office

1612 K Street, NW Suite #1100 * Washington, D.C. 20006

202.408.0034 *

_www.whistleblower.org_ (http://www.whistleblower.org/)

May 2, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Adam Miles, Legislative Representative

Phone: 202.408.0034 ext. 132,

cell 202.276.2007

Email: _adamm@..._ (mailto:adamm@...)

40 Public Interest Organizations Announce " Washington Whistleblower Week, "

May 14-18

Groups Urge Quick Senate Action on Whistleblower Rights Legislation

(Washington, D.C.) - The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is joining

40 national public interest groups and hundreds of whistleblowers from across

the country in sponsoring " Washington Whistleblower Week, " to be held May

14-18, 2007.

The week's events are designed to highlight contributions whistleblowers

have made in society and to promote protections for whistleblowers who risk

their careers to challenge abuses of the public trust. Supporting organizations

view Washington Whistleblower Week as an opportunity to build on the momentum

created by a historic vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, which on

March 14 passed H.R. 985, the " Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of

2007. " The 331-94 vote is strong enough to override a potential White House

veto,

which was threatened on the day prior to the vote.

" The House vote on H.R. 985 represents the most significant breakthrough for

whistleblower rights in U.S. history, " stated GAP Legislative Representative

Adam Miles. " With the exception of a few hold-outs in the White House,

everyone agrees that government accountability is a good idea. These events

will

help show the Bush administration that the public demands these reforms and

enthusiastically supports Congress' efforts to enact stronger whistleblower

protections. "

" The House of Representatives whistled the truth, " added GAP Legal Director

Tom Devine. " If the Senate follows suit, this reform will be the strongest

government employee whistleblower law ever passed by Congress. "

To launch the week's activities on Monday, May 14, GAP, ACLU, National

Whistleblower Center, Union of Concerned Scientists, Taxpayers Against Fraud

and

other groups are hosting and/or participating in a series of panels beginning

at 10:30 a.m. in the Senate office building, Room 325. The panels are

designed to highlight congressional efforts to enhance whistleblower

protections and other oversight initiatives, with speakers including

Wigand, the subject of the movie " The Insider, " and TIME Co-person of the Year

and

FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley, among many others.

The tentative agenda is below (All times tentative; an update will be sent

shortly):

Monday, May 14th - Senate Building 325

10:30 - 11:30: Whistleblower Protection Act Legislation - The

Need for Reform

Facilitator: Tom Devine, GAP Legal Director

Keynote: Joan Claybrook, President, Public Citizen

Panelists: Staff, Office of Representative Todd Platts

Bogdan Dzakovic, Transportation Security Administration, FAA Red Team

Whistleblower

(invited) Dr. Graham, Food and Drug Administration, Vioxx Whistleblower

Background: A series of court rulings since 1994 has made

it impossible for whistleblowers to protect themselves when they speak out to

protect the public. Last Congress, the Senate unanimously approved legisl

ation that would overturn these hostile decisions and overhaul the broken WPA.

This Congress, on March 14, 2007, the House passed H.R. 985, the " Whistleblower

Protection Enhancement Act of 2007. " This panel will discuss the need for

these reforms and the prospects of enacting them during this Congress.

11:30 - 12:30: Congressional Oversight of the FBI

Facilitator: Steve Kohn, President, National

Whistleblower Center

Keynote: Senator Grassley

Panelists: Coleen Rowley, TIME Person of the Year, and

Former FBI Special Agent

German, ACLU, Former FBI Special Agent

Background: Whistleblowers have long played an important

role in Congressional oversight of the FBI. This is increasingly the case after

September 11, with frequent breakdowns in communication threatening U.S.

national and homeland security. This panel will consider the efforts made by

Former Special Agents Rowley and German to break through the institutional

walls

at the Bureau, and the changes that are still necessary to confront

bureaucratic threats to national security.

12:30 - 2:00: Luncheon Panel on Scientific and Medical

Integrity and Individual Conscience

Facilitator: Mark Cohen, GAP Food and Drug Safety

Director

Panelists: (invited) Representative Ed Markey

Wigand, Tobacco Industry whistleblower, subject of the movie " The

Insider "

Wood, former Director, FDA Office of Women's Health

Rick Piltz, former Senior Associate, White House Climate Change Science

Program

Francesca Grifo, Director, Scientific Integrity Program, Union of Concerned

Scientists

Background: Thousands of scientists, including numerous

Nobel laureates, have signed petitions accusing the Bush administration of

misusing and distorting scientific data to advance political objectives and

curry

favor with big business supporters. This panel will consider the techniques

of the tobacco and fossil fuel lobbies, and the Christian Right, to undermine

science, and the role of individuals of conscience in standing up for the

scientific truth.

2:00 - 3:00: The False Claims Act: Successes and Challenges

Ahead (Location for this panel TBD)

Facilitator: ph E. B. (Jeb) White, director of legal

education,

Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund

Panelists: D. Altman, D. Altman, PLLC,

Washington, D.C., former Assistant Director of DOJ Commercial Litigation

Branch

Janet Chandler, Ph.D., whistleblower in landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision

L. Vogel, Vogel & Slade, LLP, Washington, D.C., False Claims Act Qui

Tam Attorney

Background: Since the False Claims Act (FCA) was amended

nearly twenty years ago, whistleblowers have played a pivotal role in returning

nearly $20 billion in stolen funds to the U.S. Treasury. The remarkable

success of the Act is largely because of the unique public-private partnership

established under the Act, which not only encourages whistleblowers to report

misconduct, but actually empowers them to investigate and prosecute

fraudfeasors on behalf of the federal government. States have also taken notice

of this

success and over thirty of them have either passed their own FCA or are

currently considering similar legislation. This panel will highlight the

success

of state and federal FCAs and will provide a glimpse behind the

public-private mechanism driving this success.

3:00 - 4:00: Oversight of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel

(Location for this panel TBD)

Facilitator: Adam Miles, GAP Legislative Representative

Panelists: Debbie Katz, Katz, Marshal and Banks

Natresha Dawson, Office of Special Counsel (OSC) whistleblower

(invited) Gabe Bruno, Former FAA Manager

(invited) Representative from OSC

Background: The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) recently

announced it is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into possible improper

political activity by members of the White House, including Karl Rove. The

investigation is being initiated at the same time that a White House entity,

called the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, is completing its

own investigation of Special Counsel Bloch. This panel will consider

the merits of both investigations and discuss what government employees should

expect when they turn to OSC after being retaliated against for blowing the

whistle.

In addition to GAP, sponsoring organizations** of Washington Whistleblower

Week include: the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the American

Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Civil Liberties Union

(ACLU),

Project on Government Oversight (POGO), the National Whistleblower Center,

Public Citizen, Union of Concerned Scientists, Public Employees for

Environmental Responsibility (PEER), National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers

Against Fraud,

the Liberty Coalition, Openthegovernment.org, OMB Watch, People for the

American Way, National Employment Lawyers Association, Whistleblowers USA,

Common

Cause, U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation, and many others.

Another event will be the Whistleblower " Tribunal, " to be held in the Cannon

House Office Building from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Tuesday, May 15.

Whistleblowers will present dramatic personal stories about how their actions

served to

protect tens or millions of their fellow citizens.

On Wednesday, May 16, the National Whistleblower Center will be hosting a

series of practical workshops for whistleblowers and continuing legal education

programs for whistleblower and employment attorneys. For more information,

go to _www.whistleblowers.org_ (http://www.whistleblowers.org/) .

Also on Wednesday, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Whistleblower Coalition will

host sessions on reprisal against VA whistleblowers. For more information, go

to _www.vawbc.com_ (http://www.vawbc.com/) .

** Organization support for Washington Whistleblower Week listed here does

not necessarily indicate endorsement of any of the week's specific events,

which are being put on by individual organizations.

Government Accountability Project

The Government Accountability Project is the nation's leading whistleblower

protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing

concerns and developing legal reforms, GAP's mission is to protect the

public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded

in

1977, GAP is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization with offices in

Washington, D.C. and Seattle, WA.

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