Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my friend, Mr. Clay, for his leadership and for his kindness. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Thoroughly Investigating Retaliation Against Whistleblowers Act--a mouthful, but it captures what we are trying to do. I certainly appreciate Mr. Blum's efforts to advance legislation that authorizes the Office of Special Counsel and protects whistleblowers in the Federal Government, an effort the Oversight and Government Reform Committee strives to promote when we are at our best on a bipartisan basis, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the bill. I welcome consideration of this bill which would reaffirm Congress' commitment to whistleblowers, upholding the Oversight and Government Reform Committee's obligation to protect those whistleblowers that help identify mismanagement, waste, and fraud at Federal agencies and to support the oversight work of Congress. That is Congress at its best. With the enactment of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, OSC became an independent agency within the executive branch. Its mission is to safeguard the merit system of protecting Federal employees from prohibitive personnel practices, especially reprisal from whistleblowing. OSC provides employees a mechanism for disclosing wrongdoing in government agencies and provides advice on the Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by government employees generally.…”