WHISTLEBLOWERS who expose wrongdoing by the US government will have much to cheer about when a bill protecting them from retribution is made law in the coming weeks 鈥� unless they happen to be scientists.
Last year, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act sailed through the House of Representatives and the Senate. Now lawmakers must meet to determine the final wording of the bill before it is signed into law. This should be a formality, but there鈥檚 a snag. The House version included a clause specifically protecting scientists who expose government abuse of scientific information. The Senate bill did not.
In recent years, climatologists, drug safety experts and wildlife biologists working for the government have reported concerns about officials suppressing or spinning their findings. Some groups are worried that these scientists will remain vulnerable if the Senate鈥檚 wording is adopted. 鈥淲hat the House bill would do is make it fully understood that when a scientist says 鈥榯he research is wrong, and this is political鈥�, they have a legal standing to point that out,鈥� says Francesca Grifo of the Union of Concerned 杏吧原创s.
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