Congress should investigate the war on government whistleblowers

I searched the phrase “Obama’s war on whistleblowers” the other day and was stunned at the number of stories that popped up on the Internet. The Obama administration’s unprecedented war on whistleblowers and the administration’s historic lack of transparency has been reported all around the world. 

Academy award winning director Robert Greenwald’s documentary, The War on Whistleblowers, chronicles the nightmare four individuals endured to expose unsafe weapons systems at the Pentagon and illegal activities by federal agencies. 

{mosads}Congress should hold hearings on why federal employees and private citizens that have exposed blatant wrong doing by federal contractors and illegal behavior by federal agencies continue to be harassed and persecuted. 

Individuals that report fraud and illegal activities by federal agencies are still having their careers ruined and in some cases facing federal prosecution and even harassment by the IRS. 

If you uncover a government contractor that has cheated the federal government you can receive millions in rewards under the False Claims Act. I think the same principal should apply for uncovering fraud within the federal government. If a federal employee or private citizen exposes fraud within the federal government they should be assisted and protected not persecuted and prosecuted. 

I have won dozens of legal battles with the federal government under the Freedom of Information Act. My research prompted the first GAO investigation into fraud in federal small business contracting programs. Now the House Small Business Committee has unanimously adopted an amendment to request yet another GAO investigation into fraud in federal small business contracting programs based on my research. Rep. Janice Hahn (D-Calif.) drafted the amendment to uncover why Fortune 500 firms continue to land billions in federal small business contracts year after year. The federal government should support and protect private citizens like myself that expose fraud and abuse within the government, but unfortunately that has not been my experience. 

I recently won a major Freedom of Information Act case against the Pentagon. Federal District Court Judge William Alsup described me as being in a “David and Goliath” battle with “big government.” In talking about the Pentagon’s efforts to withhold information Judge Alsup stated, “and here is the United States covering it up.” In a subsequent hearing he accused the Pentagon of “trying to suppress the evidence.” Is the United States Department of Justice helping me to uncover abuse and mismanagement at the Pentagon? No, the Department of Justice is representing the Pentagon and essentially helping them withhold evidence of possible fraud and abuse in the Pentagon’s Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program (CSPTP).

It seems like I’m doing the job the Justice Department and the SBA Office of Inspector General should be doing. Shouldn’t they be doing all the work I have done to expose fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting and subcontracting programs? 

Looking at the way whistleblowers have been treated recently I’m concerned that I’m more likely to get a retaliatory IRS audit and/or prosecution by the Department of Justice than any kind of protection or assistance from the federal government. 

Is this the way we want our government to operate? Should American citizens that expose fraud and corruption in the government have to risk destroying their careers and even face prosecution for their courageous efforts of exposing wrongdoing within the federal government? I don’t think so. 

Congress should hold a series of hearings to investigate the apparent ineffectiveness of all federal legislation and polices to better protect all federal employees that expose fraud and corruption in government. Congress should also adopt legislation to give private citizens that expose fraud and corruption the same protection that federal employees enjoy as whistleblowers. Members of Congress would be stunned and outraged at how private citizen whistleblowers like myself have been treated by the federal government. 

From my personal experience, if a private citizen exposes illegal activity by federal employees or blatant violation of federal law by a federal agency, you’re more likely to face retribution and retaliation than federal employees that expose similar abuses. 

Congress has the ability to address this obvious problem. If they don’t they are giving tacit approval for federal agencies to persecute and harass American citizens that should receive assistance and a positive response for their efforts to expose fraud and corruption in government, not retaliation and retribution.

Chapman is president and founder of the American Small Business League.