Deborah Koff Ross: “Let me begin by saying that my colleague from Maryland, the ranking member of the full committee, has been and continues…”

“Let me begin by saying that my colleague from Maryland, the ranking member of the full committee, has been and continues to be probably one of the strongest advocates for whistleblower protections, and I thank him and laud him for that. But I must disagree with him in regard to this amendment. No one regulation is the perfect and ideal regulation that will last into perpetuity. All regulations need to be reviewed, and that is what this rule does. The commission focuses on rules and regulations that are out of date, no longer useful, and are otherwise unnecessary or obsolete. Regulations that were promulgated with the original intent of protecting whistleblowers need updating and consideration as much as any other regulation does. Reviewing and revisiting regulations promulgated decades ago creates the opportunity to improve upon existing standards. Excluding whistleblower regulations from this exercise means that whistleblowers would lose out on the chance to streamline regulations and reduce burdens that might be harming whistleblowers. In fact, this process could actually help protect whistleblowers in its oversight and transparency. Importantly, this bill has several significant procedural hurdles to pass before any regulation would be repealed.…”