All Things Whistleblower: A GAP Blog

Our Food Should Not Be Treated with Carbon Monoxide

Last January, GAP banded together with other consumer groups and asked Congress to ban the use of carbon monoxide (CO) for case-ready fresh meat. The use of CO is a ploy that extends the shelf-life of case-ready meat by making it appear red long after it begins to spoil. As long as Congress and the FDA continue permitting this deceptive practice, unsuspecting consumers will be misled into purchasing faux-fresh meat.

It may not be too surprising that companies like Cargill, Tyson and Hormel would trick the public into buying spoiled meat products, but when a company claims to be “all natural” like Laura’s All Natural Beef, we expect it to live up to its promise. CO-treated meat is already at a supermarket near you. And guess what? It’s not labeled. So if you want your meat to look fresh only when it actually is fresh, you better let Congress and the FDA hear about it.

Be sure to check out the new cartoon Just Say NO! to Mono Meat created by our friends over at Food and Water Watch.

-- Jacqueline Ostfeld

Missile Defense Thwarted by Rain

A little-noticed story hit the wire yesterday showing that part of the United States’ missile defense system in Alaska would have been unable to intercept just about anything for extended periods last year due to water damage from rain. Oh, and the contractor in charge (Boeing), according to the UPI article, “will most likely still receive an estimated $38 million to repair the silos and a $100 million no-bid contract to build more silos.”

The story is based from releases from our friends at the Project on Government Oversight, one of GAP’s close coalition partners.

-- Dylan Blaylock

GAP Documents Show Wolfowitz' Ex-Girlfriend (and World Bank staffer) Makes More than Condi Rice

The Washington Post’s In The Loop column ran a story today showing that World Bank staffer Shaha Riza, supposedly the (recently) former girlfriend of Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, has received numerous raises in excess of what World Bank protocol stipulates her position should have received. The documentation used as the basis for the story came from GAP.

Here’s what the Post (Al Kamen) said:

Just before leaving, she was promoted to a managerial-level job, which we're told is somewhat rare. Bank records obtained by the Government Accountability Project indicate that, before Riza's promotion, she was earning $132,660.

Under bank rules -- remember, she is still on its payroll even at State -- the highest raise she should have gotten in her new job would be about $20,000, according to GAP's calculation. Instead, she got a $47,340 raise, which put her salary at $180,000.

This fiscal year, while still at State, Riza got a raise of $13,500, bringing her up to $193,590, which is $7,000 more than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes. Since she is at State and not the bank, the bank's staff rules should have allowed only about half that, GAP said. Even if she'd been at the bank and gotten the highest performance rating compared with other bank employees, she could not have gotten that big a raise, GAP said.

So Wolfowitz’s former flame may very well be the highest paid woman in the executive branch. We’re not sure about that, but considering she makes more than Rice…

--Dylan Blaylock

GAP Testifies at House Hearing Today

Following GAP’s release yesterday of a report detailing our investigation into political interference at federal climate science agencies, GAP Staff Attorney Tarek Maassarani will testify today at 2 p.m. in the House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, under the House Committee on Science and Technology (you can watch the hearing  on the Science Committee's Web site).

Also testifying are: James McCarthy, professor of biological oceanography at Harvard University and board member of the Union of Concerned Scientists; and Sheldon Rampton of SourceWatch.

-- Dylan Blaylock

Supreme Court Rules Against Whistleblower Involved in False Claims Action

Today’s Supreme Court ruling will make it harder for whistleblowers who utilize the False Claims Act to claim cash rewards when the government collects money from corporations found to have committed billing fraud against the government.

The False Claims Act allows regular citizens with evidence of financial corruption against the government (through contracts) to sue the company in question and recover up to three times the amount originally stolen. Such suits are called qui tam suits. The citizen (whistleblower) bringing the suit is entitled to 15 – 25 percent of the recovered money (If you would like to learn more about this process, Taxpayers Against Fraud details this really well)

Today’s ruling denied a whistleblower, James Stone, who was the original spark for an investigation into Rockwell International, which has been ordered to pay the government $4.2 million, any percentage of the recovered funds. The majority (a 6-2 vote) decided against Stone because, in their opinion, his information did not greatly influence the jury’s verdict against Rockwell. 

Corporations were hoping for this result, as they wish to discourage potential whistleblowers. The Bush administration sided with Stone, as qui tam suits bring money back to the government.

The two dissenting justices, Stevens and Ginsburg, wrote in their opinion that whistleblowers should only have to show their information leads the government to fraud in order to be compensated.

-- Dylan Blaylock

GAP Report Details Climate Science Politicization

Today, GAP is releasing a comprehensive report, Redacting the Science of Climate Change, detailing the findings of a year-long investigation into political interference at federal climate science agencies. The report demonstrates how policies and practices have increasingly restricted the flow of scientific information emerging from publicly-funded climate change research. This has negatively affected the media’s ability to report objectively on scientific issues, public officials’ capacity to respond with appropriate policies, and full public understanding of environmental concerns.

GAP's Tarek Maassarani is to testify tomorrow in the House regarding this report, as detailed two posts below.

-- Dylan Blaylock

A Flawed World Bank Strategy

Paul Wolfowitz’ new plan to speed loans to countries in crisis is fundamentally flawed. Wolfowitz says he’s going to speed “aid” by reducing the time needed for loan approval from nine months to three. Hastily-prepared loans are not aid. Bank staff argue that much of the nine-month preparation time now spent on approval is also needed by the borrowing government to find counterpart staff and funding for large investment loans. Governments have to be sure the loan is bankable – that it can be repaid. African countries became “heavily indebted” in the 80s and ‘90s because governments borrowed money that was not wisely invested or, in some cases, not invested at all. Now that these countries have debt relief, why would the Bank concoct a policy that indebts them all over again by pushing large loans out the door without adequate planning?

When a country emerges from conflict or disaster, it needs grants, not loans. These come from bilateral donors to a trust fund that the Bank administers in these situations. Quite simply, it takes time for shaky post-conflict governments to calculate accurately what sectors make the best investment bets. In the meantime, the country should have access to emergency humanitarian aid.

-- Bea Edwards
 

GAP to Testify Wednesday in House on Further Political Interference of Climate Science

This coming Wednesday, the House Science and Technology Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Shaping the Message, Distorting the Science: Media Strategies to Influence Public Policy.” GAP Staff Attorney Tarek Maassarani will testify, and GAP will simultaneously release a full report detailing political interference at federal climate science agencies, and how policies and practices at federal scientific agencies have restricted the flow of scientific information getting to the public.

Both the hearing and the report are important next steps from earlier events. In January, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a two-part hearing on examining allegations of political interference with government climate change science. The first hearing featured the testimony of Rick Piltz, the second Phil Cooney's and James Hansen's.

Also at that first hearing, GAP co-released a report, Atmosphere of Pressure, with the Union of Concerned Scientists. The report that GAP releases on Wednesday is a comprehensive, year-long investigative report detailing extensive findings. The previous report was a condensed version.

--Dylan Blaylock

New Justice Department Scandal Relates to GAP Case

As reported by the Washington Post on Thursday, another scandal involving the Department of Justice is heating up. A DOJ lawyer that prosecuted a gigantic 2005 lawsuit against tobacco companies has come forward to state that Bush administration political appointees continually ordered her to weaken the government’s case.

Back in 2005, questionable strategy shifts in the government’s handling of the case were heavily criticized. Eventually, the DOJ reduced their proposed penalty from $130 billion to $10 billion.

Besides apparent micromanagement by the appointees, it looks like they were responsible for the DOJ’s dropping of the recommendation that tobacco executives be removed from their corporate positions, along with instructing witnesses to water down testimonies.

One of these witnesses is GAP client Max Bazerman, who revealed back in June 2005 that a DOJ official threatened to remove him from the government witness list if he did not change his recommendations for tobacco industry penalties. Bazerman, a Harvard University business professor, refused to yield under pressure, and did not alter his testimony.

It looks like Henry Waxman, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is following up on this important case. Last night, he sent Alberto Gonzales a letter asking for the case’s records.

-- Dylan Blaylock

Wolfowitz Should Know Iraq is Unsafe

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was in

Baghdad

yesterday, and speaking at a press conference with the Iraqi Prime Minister, stated that the U.N. might expand their presence in the war-torn country because of better security. Moments later, a mortar shell exploded right outside of the conference, causing Moon to duck behind his podium (here’s the video link). Is this irony or what?

GAP’s International Program, which coincidentally focuses on both the United Nations and World Bank, has sent a couple press releases out about how Paul Wolfowitz appears to be taking steps to bring the Bank into Iraq, despite the fact that it would be in clear violation of World Bank rules.

Is there any doubt that this is a bad idea? Does anyone think that situation could possibly be safe for World Bank staffers?

-- Dylan Blaylock