Meanwhile, House and Senate conferees stripped similar provisions that the House had included in the compromise $790 billion stimulus package.
The Whistleblower Protection and Enhancement Act, attached as an amendment, would have established avenues for federal whistleblowers to have their cases heard in federal court and allowed all circuits of the appellate courts to review them and overturned a Supreme Court decision precluding first amendment protections for government whistleblowers when they report maters internally.
The Project on Government Oversight called it a "mugging" but was quick to praise "improved language for the government database which will better track the flow of stimulus funds to the state and local level."
The Government Accountability Project praised the inclusion of "best practices" anti-retaliation rights for workers and recipients of the funds, including contractors, grantees, and state and local government employees, though it also expressed "deep frustration" that protections were not extended to federal employees.
