Watchdog Applauds Congress’ Decision to Protect Whistleblowers

Washington, D.C. — Now that the House and Senate have both passed a version of a bill to strengthen whistleblower protections for government contractors, watchdogs are calling on the two chambers to quickly reconcile the bills to send to the president’s desk. Joe Spielberger, senior policy counsel at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) issued the following statement:

“We applaud Congress for championing commonsense protections for federal contractors who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and misconduct. The Expanding Whistleblower Protections for Contractors Act makes it clear that contractors are protected for refusing to follow illegal orders, forbids government officials from ordering contractors to retaliate against whistleblowers, and expands protections for who can qualify as a whistleblower.

“Closing these loopholes is sorely needed. The federal government increasingly relies on contractors for significant, often sensitive work. Employees working on government contracts must feel safe blowing the whistle on wrongdoing. It’s crucial to ensuring the government is accountable to the people.

“Bipartisan agreement across chambers is rare — and in this case it underscores how important and popular these whistleblower protections really are. Congress must swiftly reconcile these bills and demand the president sign these protections into law.”