Yesterday, the Executive Office of the President issued a "Statement of Administration Policy" (provided below the fold) that seeks to kill House bill H.R. 985, scheduled for a House vote TODAY. Your help is needed to keep alive the bill's protections for government employees who report the kinds of abuses epidemic in the Bush administration - abuse of power, corruption, squelched scientific dissent, contractor fraud and more. For the first time, protections will be available to employees at intelligence agencies, where much remains to be uncovered about domestic snooping and the Iraq war.
Unsurprisingly, the White House attacks protections for "employees at national security agencies" which it claims would be "overly burdensome." The Statement mischaracterizes H.R. 985 by implying that government employees who handle classified information would be free to disclose it on a whim. Rather, H.R. 985 allows whistleblowers to take concerns to members of Congress, enabling Congress to provide, as the Constitution requires, oversight and checks on Executive Branch abuses of power. Indeed, power is at the heart of the White House statement.
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