Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, my amendment would exempt from this bill any rule that protects whistleblowers or that imposes penalties on individuals who retaliate against whistleblowers. This bill would jeopardize all agency rulemakings--no matter how important--even rules that protect whistleblowers. The Department of Energy issued a ruling in December that would authorize the department to impose civil penalties on Federal nuclear contractors who retaliate against whistleblowers who report information concerning nuclear safety. On January 31, 2017, DOE put a moratorium on that rule in response to President Trump's mandated freeze on rulemakings. This is exactly the kind of rule that could become a casualty of this bill. We must ensure that agencies can issue rules that protect individuals who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse, as well as safety issues that can be a matter of life and death. Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record a letter from the Project on Government Oversight supporting my amendment. That letter states: ``Whistleblowers are the first and best line of defense against significant problems on federal projects and must be protected from retribution for the act of reporting wrongdoing. Regulations to protect those whistleblowers should be exempt from the SCRUB Act 2017.'' Project on Government Oversight, Washington, DC, February 28, 2017. Hon. Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington DC. Hon.…”