Foreign Policy: Hope Fades for Aggressive NSA Reform in Congress
Last week, senators from both parties expressed a lack of desire to approve legislation that would institute adequate NSA reform. Comments from lawmakers at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee included that such a bill is “unnecessary” and that it would “fix a lot of things that simply aren’t broken.”
This news is alarming since senators were commenting on the House version of NSA reform – the USA Freedom Act, which passed last month. Privacy rights groups pulled their support of the House bill after it became clear the legislation still allows for the mass collection of Americans’ private information.
Other senators are optimistic about pushing for greater NSA transparency.
Key Quote: “One after another, too many lawmakers said, ‘Yep, this is constitutional; yep, this is constitutional; yep, this is constitutional,'” said Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project, referring to the NSA’s bulk data collection program. “I didn’t leave the hearing feeling that the bill was going to be strengthened.”
Fox News: Group Defies VA Auditor’s Demand for Whistleblower Records
Yesterday, GAP’s sister organization, the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), announced its refusal to adhere to a subpoena from the Veterans Affairs Inspector General Office to provide confidential whistleblower disclosures from VA employees. POGO started its initiative of collecting VA whistleblower disclosures in the wake of the growing scandal involving unacceptably long waiting times for veterans to receive health care.
WOWT (NE): Grassley Works With Iowa Whistleblower to Expose Postal Service Contracting Problem
Senate whistleblower champion Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is pointing to a USPS Inspector General report that evidences improper contract-awarding procedures involving agency mailbox locks. Relying on disclosures from a whistleblower, the IG found that USPS failed to follow its own “policies and procedures and did not develop a purchase plan or conduct a price analysis before awarding the contract.”
Sports Illustrated: McCants Allegation Brings Up Case NCAA Should have already Handled
Last week, a former University of North Carolina basketball star revealed that he “didn’t write a paper” while at the school. GAP has advocated for the rights of whistleblower Mary Willingham, who first exposed the infamous “paper-class” scandal. This article details how the NCAA has failed to launch any investigation into the ongoing scandal.
Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.