This morning the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), a leading taxpayer advocacy organization, sent a “vote alert” on S. 372, The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. The alert urges all Members in the House of Representatives to support passage of this taxpayer safeguarding measure:

S. 372 must be enacted now; it represents admirable progress toward ensuring that those with credible information about fiscal mismanagement in the federal government are protected from retaliation

This alert is just one of the latest from over 90 good government groups that support the passage of this critical legislation.

NTU points out that other fiscal responsibility measures passed in the 111th Congress, such as the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, remain incomplete without adequate protections for federal employees to disclose violations of law, and it is taxpayers that pay the price:

For the better part of a decade, one of those missing reforms – comprehensive whistleblower protections – has stalled despite the best efforts of citizen groups across the political spectrum. All the while, taxpayers have been treated to a lamentable litany of fiscal scandals, even as whistleblower provisions for non-federal workers were strengthened.

The letter concludes that in light of the recent WikiLeaks traffic, Congress must create a responsible alternative for national security employees to make whistleblower disclosures, and S. 372 is a step in the right direction:

Far from being a radical measure, S. 372 strikes a prudent balance between safeguarding tax dollars as well as national security, and would help to discourage irresponsible WikiLeaks-style disclosures – all without worsening flawed federal workplace rules that contribute to an entrenched bureaucracy.

GAP thanks the NTU for challenging our elected leaders to deliver on their promises to fight waste, fraud and abuse, by voting Yes on S. 372, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act. The Senate passed the WPEA by unanimous consent last Friday, and it is time for a bipartisan House vote on the one issue that all parties can agree on: Protecting taxpayers and the public.

You can urge your representative to pass this much needed reform by clicking here. The time is now to support whistleblower rights!

Shanna Devine is Legislative Coordinator for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower advocacy organization.