It was a day to raise a toast to those who dare to blow the whistle.
On National Whistleblower Appreciation Day Thursday, a series of distinguished panels and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle came together for a Whistleblower Summit and to push for greater legal protections for those who risk their paychecks and careers to expose waste, fraud or government stupidity.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, a member of the bipartisan congressional Whistleblower Protection Caucus, helped sponsor the resolution officially marking the day and spoke at luncheon Thursday to a crowd of around 200 people, including numerous whistleblowers.
“Whistleblowers foster transparency and make it possible for organizations to do better,” Mr. Grassley said. “Transparency brings accountability. After all, you can’t fix something if you don’t know it’s broken.”
That, Mr. Grassley added with a laugh, “is just common sense — of course, Washington is an island surrounded by common sense.”
More seriously, he added, the country as a whole suffers when those wanting to expose wrong fear coming forward.
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“Experience shows us that silencing the patriotic people we call whistleblowers just allows wrongdoing to fester and to spread,” the Iowa Republican said.
Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat and vice chairman of the caucus, noted that the issue is not a partisan one, as Republicans and Democrats alike fight to push this issue along in Congress.
“Whether it is in the private sector or in government, Republican administrations or Democratic administrations, I think it is fair to say whistleblowing has a tough time getting a wholehearted embrace by management,” Mr. Wyden said.
“You have friends on both sides of the aisle in the United States Congress,” the senator remarked, embracing whistleblowers within the crowd.
A civil service reform law passed in 1978 set new rules on limiting retaliation against government whistleblowers, but backers say more protections are needed. The Make It Safe Coalition organizes annual conferences that have come to be known as Washington’s Whistleblower’s Week to highlight the need for action.
Attorney Michael McCray, who exposed waste and fraud from his time at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the problem had gotten worse under the current administration.
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“Today we face the greatest threat — the erosion of the First Amendment under the Obama Administration,” Mr. McCray said, noting that the government has gone after more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act under Mr. Obama than under all the other presidents combined.
Marcel Reid, a whistleblower who faced death threats and went into hiding, noted the importance of telling the truth, despite the dangers that come with challenging their government.
“Without the truth, we don’t have a democracy,” said Ms. Reid. “We just have a government that is totally totalitarian.”
Jane Turner, also a whistleblower, discussed the long, suffering road toward justice in an emotional speech Thursday that had many in the audience in tears.
“Ten percent of whistleblowers commit suicide. Many suffer from PTSD and depression, and none of us survive unchanged,” Ms. Turner said. “We’re American heroes.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Democrat, offered a biblical justification for supporting whistleblowers.
Quoting John 8:32, she said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
• Emily Leslie can be reached at eleslie@washingtontimes.com.
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