Press Releases

Rep. Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement today in response to the passage of S. 585, legislation that expands whistleblower protections:
 
“Federal employees should not fear losing their jobs as a result of exposing waste, fraud, and/or abuse in the government. S. 585 increases whistleblower protections and disciplines supervisors who retaliate against whistleblowers. Problems at the Veteran’s Administration exemplify the necessity of this legislation across the federal government.
 
“While this is a good step in addressing these issues in the federal government, holding managers accountable is only one part of a greater problem. More action is needed to make sure federal employees are held accountable for adverse actions as well. That is why I introduced the MERIT Act, H.R. 559, to address the broken civil service employee dismissal process as a whole. I am pleased to see this progress, and I look forward to seeing more federal workers keep their jobs based on merit.”

The Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, S. 585, strengthens whistleblower protections for federal employees by:

•        Enhancing protections for employees who come forward as whistleblowers
•        Ensuring federal employees have better training so they know and understand whistleblower protections
•        Setting minimum disciplinary standards across all federal agencies to hold managers accountable who retaliate against whistleblowers
•        Requiring the VA to have a plan to restrict unauthorized employee access to medical files so they can’t be used as a means of retaliation

 To read the full text of S. 585, click HERE