House Votes to Protect Whistleblowers, Senate Next Hurdle

Whistleblowers who work for US national security agencies will for the first time be protected if they report waste, fraud or abuse - if the bill passed by the House of Representatives last week makes it through the Senate and gets signed by President George W. Bush.

The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which extends whistleblower protections to federal workers and contractors who specialize in national security issues, was one of a group of "open government" bills that passed the House. The Democratic Party majority was bolstered by varying degrees of Republican support.

National security whistleblowers have been pressing for enhanced protections for the past six years. Their efforts have been led by a coalition of open government organizations and individuals, including arguably the highest-profile whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds. Edmonds, a translator, was fired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2002 after she reported questionable behavior by fellow employees.

Edmunds sued the government and took her case all the way to the Supreme Court. But the case was never heard because the government invoked the "state secrets" privilege, contending that disclosure of the details of her allegations would compromise national security.
The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which also covers government contractors, was one of the "open government" measures passed by the House, largely under the leadership of Representative Henry

Waxman, a California Democrat who became chairman of the House Government Reform Committee when the Republicans lost control as a result of last November's election. As the committee's ranking Democrat, Waxman had unsuccessfully pressed for greater governmental transparency for the past six years. More on the story.