WASHINGTON – This week Senator Chuck Grassley is devoting the week to good government and actions that hold the federal bureaucracy accountable to the people it works for. Grassley has been an outspoken advocate for whistleblowers as well as initiatives that ensure transparency and accountability throughout the federal government.
Grassley said that with the amount of money being spent by the federal government through the stimulus and bailout legislation, there's added need for transparency and accountability. He said that often it's whistleblowers who are instrumental in holding the government responsible.
Grassley will introduce several legislative items throughout the week that highlight the need for greater openness in the way the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government operate.
“Letting the sun shine in is the best disinfectant and a prime ingredient in a system of government by the people, working for the people. The more accountability we have in the federal government, the better we can maintain the confidence of the American people,” Grassley said. “The legislation I'll introduce this week will focus on making the government more transparent and accountable. Whistleblowers are key to helping us keep the federal government accountable; they know where the skeletons are hidden and can often best explain why something is wrong and provide the evidence to prove it.”
He’ll also focus on the importance of inspectors general as an important way to root out waste, fraud and abuse throughout the federal government.
“Inspectors general are the front line against fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars at federal agencies. They are the watchdogs that are responsible for sifting through all the budgets and expenditures by conducting audits, performing program evaluations, investigating allegations of wrongdoing, and working closely with whistleblowers to uncover the truth,” Grassley said. “Their independence is integral to keeping the huge bureaucracy accountable.”
Grassley was the author, along with Representative Howard Berman, of the highly successful 1986 update of the False Claims Act, which has recovered $20 billion for the U.S. Treasury that would otherwise be lost to fraud. Those amendments breathed new life into what is known as Lincoln’s Law by empowering qui tam relators to act as private attorneys general and file suit against those who defraud the federal government.
He is also the author of the Congressional Accountability Act which guaranteed the same rights for congressional employees as private sector employees and ensured that members of Congress feel the impact of laws applied to private sector employers and small business owners across the country. The law brought Congress under major laws which address wage and hour questions, occupational safety and health issues.
Grassley has a long history of working with whistleblowers. He has demanded investigations of the unjust treatment of many whistleblowers throughout his tenure in Congress and championed whistleblowers at the FBI, FDA, IRS, SEC and many other federal agencies. Grassley cosponsored the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, as well as subsequent legislation to ensure whistleblowers are treated appropriately.