|
|
Changes Are Afoot for Whistleblowers at the NRC
2007 Volume 11-4
In This Issue
Changes Are Afoot for Whistleblowers at the NRC
Director's Letter
POGO Receives Military Award for Supporting Employee in the Reserves
POGO Issues Report about Change to Helicopter Requirement
Congressional Oversight Training Series (COTS) Underway
Helping in the World's Fight Against Corruption
Bi-Partisan Message for Congressional Oversight
Season's Greetings
Changes Are Afoot for Whistleblowers at the NRC
In October, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) took some steps to improve whistleblower protections. Under the old system, the NRC could fine only the nuclear power utility for punishing whistleblowers, but not the utility's contractors or subcontractors. A new rule enables the NRC to fine contractors and subcontractors as well.
The rule was approved shortly after the recent debacle at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Security officer Kerry Beal and others had on several occasions attempted to get the NRC and Wackenhut Security, which was Beal's employer and responsible for security at Peach Bottom, to address the problem of bored or exhausted guards at the plant. Guards were falling asleep on duty—while they were supposed to be alert and ready at a moment's notice to respond to an attack. (If you have little sympathy for this, put yourself in the guards' position: sit in a small, airless room with little or no external stimulus and maintain a constant state of readiness. Do this for up to twelve hours a day, five or six days a week, while you wait for an attack you hope never comes. Get up and patrol on a regular basis, but always go back to that same room. Did you fall asleep yet?) Changes to improve the situation had at one point been proposed, but Exelon—the utility in charge of Peach Bottom—refused to fund those changes. When no improvements were made, Beal took a video of his sleeping co-workers to WCBS-NY. Exelon fired Wackenhut as its security contractor, and also fired Beal.
The Peach Bottom incident prompted Commissioner Gregory Jaczko to propose changes to the NRC's process for handling whistleblowers' security concerns. Primary among the changes is to refer fewer allegations to the utilities for investigation. Currently, forty percent of the whistleblower allegations received by the NRC are turned over to the utilities against which the allegations were made. This means the industry is investigating itself.
Another change is to no longer refer allegations of weakened security to the utility that runs the plants over the objections of the whistleblower. While it may seem ludicrous that the NRC ignores whistleblower objections by sending allegations to be investigated by the very entity the whistleblower is exposing, that's currently the process in some cases. A final change is to keep the NRC actively involved in investigations of allegations, even if the NRC, the utility, and the whistleblower all agree that the utility should conduct the investigation.
While these changes won't help Kerry Beal, they may help future whistleblowers and, therefore, public safety. POGO is also working with the NRC to resolve Beal's situation.
Director's Letter
Dear Friends,
Most folks we've met are of the opinion that the government is in trouble. They are keenly aware that private interests are increasingly influencing public policy, and that policies are more and more frequently benefitting the powerful few, rather than the general welfare as was intended by our nation's Founders. In fact, the first thing people usually say to POGO staff upon meeting us is, "You're lucky, you'll never run out of work!" But we really don't see it that way: the staff and board's vision is to help create a government where POGO is no longer needed.
As 2007 comes to a close, POGO is taking a look back on the year and the work that we've accomplished. In that examination, we noticed a significant change that seems to have crept up on us: we have begun taking on projects that act as a form of preventive medicine for the government. While we will always conduct the ground-breaking investigations into corruption and other misconduct that we're known for (see our page 4 article about how the Air Force improperly weakened a requirement for its new rescue helicopter), we will also work to reform the government's internal systems that are designed to catch or even prevent problems in the first place. This wider scope is an approach that we have always thought POGO should pursue.
You know about our COTS sessions (see articles on pages 3 and 5), and in the last newsletter you learned about our ongoing investigation into the Inspector General system, which is examining how to better balance the necessary independence and accountability of those offices. Now, we have begun investigating the current state of the Pentagon's various oversight offices, as well as identifying the indicators of good government that are necessary at all levels of government—federal, state, and local. We're so excited about our new projects, and know that they will get us that much closer to curing what ails the government. We'll keep you up to date through the newsletter as the new projects advance.
Wishing you happy and safe holidays,
Danielle Brian
POGO Receives Military Award for Supporting Employee in the Reserves
POGO is honored to announce that it has received the "Above and Beyond" award from Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense organization that promotes cooperation between members of the National Guard and Reserve and their civilian employers. The award recognized POGO for going "above and beyond the legal requirements for granting leave and providing support for military duty." POGO was one of only eight employers in all of Washington, D.C., and the only nonprofit organization, to receive the "Above and Beyond" award this year. We were nominated for this honor by former Defense Investigator Todd Bowers, who served in the Marine Corps Reserve during his time at POGO. Prior to joining the organization, Todd had completed two tours of duty in Iraq.
POGO's Keith Rutter accepted the award on behalf of the organization in a ceremony held in September at the National Guard Armory in Washington, D.C. Keith remarked that supporting members of the Guard and Reserve is simply the right thing to do, a sentiment echoed by many of the evening's honorees. For over twenty-five years, POGO has fought to protect our nation's service-men and -women from the undue influence of defense contractors and private special interests, and we will continue to support any of our own employees who choose to serve our country in the military services. Those who risk their lives to defend our country are the real "above and beyond" heroes.
POGO Issues Report about Change to Helicopter Requirement
POGO recently released a report, Rescue at Risk: Crucial Helicopter Requirement Weakened, about the Air Force's replacement combat search and rescue helicopter program (CSAR-X). The report shows that Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) program officials violated acquisition policy to weaken one of the most important CSAR-X requirements, apparently in order to allow Boeing to compete. In doing so, AFSOC subverted the safety of service members to the parochial interests of the Pentagon and Boeing.
The need for search and rescue during a conflict is inherently sudden and unpredictable, and time is therefore critical to success. Yet, just weeks after meeting with Boeing employees about their Chinook, which would have difficulty meeting the deployability requirement, AFSOC watered down the requirement. AFSOC snuck the change in, seemingly to avoid scrutiny from senior Pentagon officials responsible for approving weapons system requirements. The senior officials had previously told AFSOC not to weaken the requirement both because they were opposed to the change, and because it was occurring so late in the acquisition process. AFSOC altered the deployability requirement anyway, making vague the allowable maximum time in which a helicopter must be ready to fly missions after being deployed to the mission site.
The circumstances surrounding the change merit attention from Congress and the Department of Defense Inspector General. While POGO has no reason to believe there was any illegality or corruption in the process, the system was so subverted, and consequently the needs of the warfighter so undermined, that the IG should investigate the requirement change.
The $10-$15 billion CSAR-X contract is the Air Force's second highest procurement priority. It has been the focus of two bid protests filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) by Boeing's competitors over concerns other than those raised by POGO. The Air Force is preparing to re-bid parts of the contract for a second time, following GAO decisions that confirmed concerns raised by Boeing's competitors.
To read POGO's report, visit www.pogo.org.
Congressional Oversight Training Series (COTS) Underway
With opinion pieces such as the one in The New York Times saying Congress "has allowed its institutional power to erode,"[1] and books such as "Broken Branch,"[2] the public is clamoring for Congress to embolden itself in the face of an assertive executive branch. Many Hill staffers have stepped up, and are making the effort to sharpen their oversight skills.
In fact, Hill staffers are telling us they want information and training, and lots of it. POGO is doing everything it can to provide that training through our Congressional Oversight Training Series (COTS). The explicitly nonpartisan environment encourages staffers to share their frustrations, brainstorm ideas, and connect with mentors and other resources. We kicked off the 2007-08 series in October, incorporating feedback from 2006-07 participants. For instance, this next series will try to include as trainers a journalist as well as current Democratic and Republican Hill staff at each seminar.
More than 55 staffers from the Senate and House, the Congressional Research Service, and the Library of Congress signed up to attend this session's first seminar. "You've Got the Power: Congressional Rights to Access Classified, Proprietary, and Other Types of Information" featured former House Counsel Stanley Brand and former Representative Mickey Edwards (R-OK), and was designed to set the tone for the year. The speakers reminded staffers that the Founders established Congress not only as an equal, if not dominant, branch of government, but as one with the obligation to conduct oversight on behalf of the American public. "Do not talk about the rights of Congress," exhorted Edwards. "Do not talk about the authority of Congress. The Constitution does not give the Congress rights. It gives the Congress obligations. It gives the Congress responsibilities."
The 2007-08 COTS bipartisan Honorary Co-Chairs are Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Carl Levin (D-MI), and Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Christopher Shays (R-CT). Resources from the seminars, including mp3s and handouts, are available online at www.pogo.org/p/x/cots.html.
[1] Cohen, Adam. "Honey, They Shrunk the Congress." The New York Times. October 30, 2007.
[2] Mann E., Thomas and Norman J. Ornstein. The Broken Branch. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Helping in the World's Fight Against Corruption
In September, POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian and General Counsel Scott Amey briefly stepped away from POGO's usual work to apply their experience abroad. Danielle and Scott ventured to Honduras as guests of the non-profit Fundacion Democracia sin Fronteras (Democracy without Borders Foundation), to exchange ideas about good government—in particular, how to create a more transparent system to prevent government corruption. POGO learned that political favoritism in Honduras has essentially eliminated public participation in the democracy. We also learned that Honduran Members of Congress have no staff or offices, and that congressional voting is conducted by a count of hands and is not recorded. POGO gave a presentation to the Honduran National Congress about the essential role the Congress should play in balancing the power of the executive branch, and in curbing rampant corruption in government. Scott and Danielle even conducted a workshop, modeled after POGO's COTS seminars, with a number of Honduran Members of Congress.
During the visit, POGO also met with local non-governmental organizations, the media, and international representatives. The primary proposal discussed was an effort to create a Congressional Committee on Public Hearings. The Committee would hold public hearings at which the public and media could review the credentials of candidates nominated to high-level government positions, and could directly pose questions to those candidates. If this system is implemented, the public would have a voice in confirming senior-level appointees, helping to ensure that personal relationships do not outweigh professional qualifications. Who knows: such a process in the U.S. might have prevented the questionable appointment of Michael Brown as the head of FEMA.
Bi-Partisan Message for Congressional Oversight
On October 19, 2007, POGO held the first seminar of the 2007-08 Congressional Oversight Training Series (COTS). It was led by Stanley Brand, House of Representatives General Counsel from 1976 to 1983, and former Representative Mickey Edwards (R-OK 1977-92). Below are excerpts from their opening remarks.
Stan Brand: Congressional oversight—everybody talks about it, but I don't think it's as well understood as it should be in this era. … It dates back prior to the time of the formation of the Republic to the fight between the English Parliament and the King, and the ultimate victory of the Parliament over the King in wresting the power of the purse—something that we can probably take a few lessons from.
The power of the purse, the power to tax, the power to declare war, were seen as the most oppressive powers that the King had over his subjects, so Parliament spent 200 to 300 years wresting that power from the King and vesting it in itself.
By the time of the formation of the American Colonies, and ultimately the Constitutional Convention, it was an article of faith that Congress had the power to review executive branch actions, to call for papers and documents, to see how the people they delegate authority to were carrying out their duties.
* * *
Mickey Edwards: I want to pose three questions and see what your response is.
1. What sorts of limitations … should guide what the president does in another country when he has stepped out of the role as Head of Government and is acting as the official Head of State? ...
2. The people from the executive branch come to provide Congress with an intelligence briefing; [they only allow] a couple of Members—no staff. What should be the process that the House and Senate follow after that meeting in order to properly act on legislation?
When the president wants to do something of questionable constitutionality, should he be required to first have a formal authorization from the Office of Legislative Counsel?
Anybody want to answer any of those? ... They're trick questions. …
The president is not the Head of Government. The president is the Head of State. He is the head of one of three separate and completely equal branches of government. …
The intelligence briefing: What gives the executive branch the authority to tell the legislative branch who it can have in a meeting? Why can the president or a group of people in the executive branch say … we're going to tell Members of Congress where they can take their staff and what they can let their staff hear? There is no authority in the executive branch to deny the Congress from determining who will get access to the information it seeks.
Third question, which was about the Office of Legislative Counsel … if Stan Brand, who is really a very good attorney … gave me the authority to jaywalk, does that give me the authority to jaywalk? The Office of Legislative Counsel is just a lawyer advising the President. It has no legal basis for authority. …
I make that point, because there seems to be pervasive—in the House and in the Senate, in the Republican Party and in the Democratic Party, in the rank-and-file and in the leadership, and the Members and the staff—a complete unawareness of the role of Congress as an equal, not just separate, branch of government.
Season's Greetings
You help us fight the battle
For truth and oversight;
On government corruption
You help us shine the light.
Thanks for all you do
And with warm wishes we say:
From our family to yours
Have a Happy Holiday!
