FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 18, 2012

Whistlewatch.org Joins Effort of National Whistleblowers Center (NWC) to Stop Department of Health and Human Services Harm to Whistleblowers.

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House and Senate leaders are in “conference” RIGHT NOW debating whether or not employees in the Public Health Service (PHS) will obtain whistleblower protections.   At stake is whether or not thousands of PHS employees who work at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be protected if they blow the whistle on waste, fraud or safety violations.

TAKE ACTION! Tell Congress that PHS employees must have the same protections against retaliation as their colleagues who work at HHS/FDA! 

The House-Senate Conference debating the FDA Reform Act (S.3187 / H.R. 5651) will decide the fate of PHS whistleblowers over the next 24-48 hours.  Your immediate support for PHS whistleblowers is needed RIGHT NOW.

Congress is deciding whether an outrageous loophole in federal law that permits government bureaucrats to fire PHS employee who blow the whistle, will be closed.  Currently,  there is no protection for PHS whistleblowers.  If they report the waste of taxpayer money or “bad science” being used to justify major public health decisions, they can be fired with no recourse!

This weekend whistleblower advocates, with strong support among many Members of Congress, proposed a legislative fix for this unjustifiable and dangerous loophole. The fix would simply provide PHS employees with the same protection all other workers at HHS/FDA have. It gives them the right to lawfully blow the whistle, have an independent investigation conducted by the Office of Special Counsel into any retaliation, and a hearing on the merits of their case.  Simple due process.

TAKE ACTION! Tell Congress to protect PHS whistleblowers! 

However, there is strong resistance in the conference to approving this essential fix. The key decision maker is Congressman Fred Upton (R MI-6), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Please email your Senator and Congressman to request that they contact Representative Upton to obtain his pledge in support of protecting PHS whistleblowers when he votes in the House-Senate conference.

Please call Representative Upton and ask him to ensure that PHS whistleblowers have the same rights as other HHS and FDA employees with whom they work side-by-side. His number is: (202) 225-2927.

TAKE ACTION NOW! The fate of PHS whistleblowers will decided over the next 24-48 hours! 

For more information, please contact NWC @ d8r2kkk

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