Legislative Action Alert!

The House of Representatives recently passed HR 1507, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2009, while the Senate version of this legislation, S.772, is still in work-up in committee. It is urgently requested that you please contact your senators requesting that they adopt the stronger language contained in the House bill in their final legislation.

Your senators may be contacted here.

Additionally, please contact your family members, friends, and neighbors, as well as your friends, associates, and followers on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and MySpace and direct them to this link by a copy/paste of the URL on your email/site.

As you fully realize, as has been reported in media recently, numerous whistleblowers, federal as well as airline aircrew members, have been wrongfully terminated or punished, suppressed and intimidated for speaking out on serious issues concerning deteriorating commercial air safety the past several years. As a result, passengers and aircrew members lives have been lost. This must be promptly corrected by appropriate and meaningful congressional legislation. The language of HR 1507 is a move in the right direction.

Also, the establishment of an independent whistleblower investigation office, as provided for in section 331 of HR 915 , is critical in ensuring that whistleblower safety disclosures are properly reviewed and not suppressed, as has been documented so many times in the past.

Members of the FAA Whistleblowers Alliance and our association have joined political hands with members of the Government Accountability Project in demanding accountability in government, while protecting the rights of whistle blowers through a fair and impartial justice system, which includes a jury trial. It should be noted that a full 98% of federal whistle blower cases that even reach the appelate level are dismissed. This stunning statistic alone gives cause for great alarm and hopefully will sound as your clarion call to politically respond by contacting your senators immediately.

During the fall 2006 congressional mid-term election cycle, the Democratic Party campaigned with a promise of 'draining the swamp' and 'ridding us of the culture of corruption'. Last year, President Obama ran on a platform that guaranteed us we would see a 'greater openness of government' during his term in office. During his the first day of his confirmation hearing, Attorney General Holder affirmed his full support of whistle blowers and the importance of guaranteeing imunity for reporting alleged wrongdoing.

Additionally, Attorney General Holder recently remarked that we have become a 'nation of cowards'. Whistle blowers must necessarily transcend the very real feelings of fear of speaking out without intimidation, and do so fully believing that the legal system will protect them, while the system of justice to uphold these laws are substantive and real. It is too late when whistle blowers realize that the illusory governmental systems of protection have abandoned and betrayed them, leaving these honest individuals to fend for themselves in a rigged judicial process.

In Closing...

It is once again asked that you help us promulate the existence of our website at http://www.airline-whistleblowers.org and our blog at http://airline-whistleblower.com to all your family, friends and neighbors. Thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.