All Things Whistleblower: A GAP Blog

A Tale of Two Countries

Two big stories covering food safety today illustrate the difference in societal reactions to possibly contaminated food. First, South Koreans continue to protest (daily!) the import of US beef into that country on fears of mad cow disease, since American beef regulatory standards are, to put it mildly, lax. The protests have unfortunately turned violent.

Contrast this with the latest news on the US salmonella outbreak – CDC officials are now saying that tainted product could still be on store shelves, nearly two weeks after first announcing the outbreak. Officials have also announced they may never pinpoint the outbreak’s origin.

It should be clear to American consumers that the FDA has a greatly flawed mechanism for tracing the origin or packaging plant of any supply of produce. But here, we have seen no protests, whereas South Koreans have taken to the streets about a possible sickness – remember, no one has even fallen ill there yet.

Do South Koreans just care more than Americans about food safety?  

Another Example of FBI Retaliation

Two Congressional Democrats and one Republican Senator are calling on the FBI to investigate suspected retaliation against an agent whistleblower who testified before Congress in May. In his testimony, the agent, Mr. Bassam Youssef, discussed FBI staffing shortages and managerial inexperience, and their impact on effective counterterrorism strategy. Just two days after Mr. Youssef testified, he was anonymously accused of violating various FBI rules and regulations. In a letter to FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs John Miller, the lawmakers expressed support for Mr. Youssef. From the Washington Times:

"Youssef courageously provided information to the subcommittee about deficiencies in the FBI´s counterterrorism programs, despite his awareness of the FBI´s tendency to retaliate against those who speak out about problems in the FBI," the lawmakers said in the letter to Mr. Mueller. 

Big Pharma's Lobbying Increase

A new report reveals a huge increase in Big Pharma’s lobbyist spending after the Democrats took Congress in 2006, which unfortunately seems to be paying off. The industry has won several major concessions from Congress, including blocking new advertising restrictions and renewing two bills that speed up the FDA approval process. This is particularly troubling at a time when Big Pharma is increasingly criticized for irresponsible business practices. From the Wall Street Journal:

The industry's support for limiting drug imports comes at a time when it is coming under attack over safety issues for its foreign outsourcing of drug manufacturing as well as for its own imports from other countries such as China.

Like Heparin, which resulted in scores of American deaths and hundreds of illnesses. Now more than ever we need responsible drug safety oversight, and Congressional Democrats need to keep their priorities in order.

Dangerous Decision

Last week, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) made a decision to continue the incineration of a Cold War-era stockpile of poisonous chemical agent at the Umatilla Chemical Depot. The decision to accept a plan of action from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was reached despite the plan’s admitted evidence that the incineration process elevates the cancer risk to surrounding communities above acceptable state standards.

GAP has been involved in this case for some time, suing the DEQ and EQC to halt the incineration of mustard agent back in November. We also helped spread the word about a less-than-transparent meeting between government officials about this problem in January.

The EQC missed a real opportunity to protect the community and to destroy chemical agents in a responsible way, considering alternative methods are available that greatly reduce environmental risk.

We’ll see what happens next, there are still public meetings to be held in the next month regarding the burning before it starts up again.

-- Dylan Blaylock

A Bad Plan

Yesterday John McCain announced his ill-advised and dangerous idea for increasing American energy independence by opening 45 new nuclear reactor energy plants over the next 22 years.

Nuclear energy poses incredible risks to the communities that house them – everything from radioactive material seeping into the ground, to contaminating water sources, to widespread and devastating human health concerns. McCain’s plan seems to be not fully thought-out when dealing with the really serious problems facing it. When questioned about disposing with nuclear waste, he clearly had no strategy, saying only (from the AP):

We will need to solve complex problems of moving and storing materials that will always need safeguarding.

He also failed to address the huge price tag of the new plants. Critics are quick to point out the probable need for major subsidies for these plants. From the New York Times: 

“Wall Street won’t invest in these plants because they are too expensive and unreliable, so Senator McCain wants to shower the nuclear industry with billions of dollars of taxpayer handouts,” said Daniel J. Weiss, who heads the global warming program at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a liberal research group.

Expensive and dangerous, two adjectives that shouldn’t be associated together with America’s energy plan.

ProHeart 6

ProHeart 6, a heartworm medication for dogs linked to 6,000 canine fatalities was re-released last week, prompting further scrutiny about the questionable relationship between the FDA and pharmaceutical giants like Wyeth, the drug’s maker. FDA veterinarian and GAP client Victoria Hampshire, who discovered the link between the drug and canine deaths, was persecuted by the FDA at Wyeth’s request. From USA Today:

The probe revealed that Wyeth officials had easy, undocumented access to the FDA to lobby for ProHeart 6 and attack Hampshire. FDA managers seemed more interested in placating Wyeth than in dealing fairly with one of its scientists.

FAA Travesties

An eye-opening NPR piece just released recounts flagrant, appalling retaliation against FAA whistleblowers. The article has whistleblowers describe how they were investigated, decertified, even physical assaulted. From NPR:

They did things blatant, they tried to run me off the road…A guy used to knock me down at work all the time. He'd walk by — if nobody was looking, he'd knock me down.

This abuse came from a female employee who reported managerial cover-ups of incidents of planes flying too close to each other. Another whistleblower reported the same type of incident, stating:

I estimate that it was 800 feet or less...It was the closest we had seen two airplanes come together in my career — and everyone else's, too.

That whistleblower also faced “quick and intense” retaliation.

GAP Tribute to Stewart Mott

Today the staff and board members of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) mourn the passing of Steward R. Mott, a well-known philanthropist who died Thursday night. Throughout his life, Stewart gave generously to progressive causes, including non-profit organizations advocating governmental reform. His daily commitment to fulfilling his family’s motto, “let us be known by our deeds”, that made him a figure worth remembering, honoring and emulating. 

His deeds included fervent advocacy for good government and a fierce defense of the Constitution, most notably the Bill of Rights and the many rights and liberties deriving from that document. He sought to stimulate an aware and vigilant American populace to demand an open, accountable government. In 1974, he created the Fund for Constitutional Government, a charitable nonprofit organization that, along with its founder, passionately and generously supported the Government Accountability Project (GAP) and many other good government groups.

His Washington, DC home was a bastion of intellectual thought and discussion.  Over the years it was home to the Women’s Campaign Fund, the Military Families Support Network, and the ACLU. While this house is considered the home of DC’s progressive movement, Mr. Mott himself described it as, “a beehive of unconventional activity, skewed in favor of truth and justice, but tolerant of and interested in all points of view”. 

Mr. Mott was a philanthropic giant – a man who never stopped “seeking tangible change”. He was outspoken, passionate, committed, compassionate and righteous. Although his presence and leadership will be profoundly missed, his spirit lives on amongst those individuals and groups that he himself supported with a deep sense of loyalty and commitment. The thoughts, best wishes and prayers of all those closely associated with GAP go out to his family and friends. 

Where's the Beef?!

Many of you remember last summer's E. coli outbreak and subsequent recall of nearly 22 million pounds of beef. The Associated Press just released documents detailing disturbingly negligent behavior and flagrant irresponsibility on the part of the meat company, along with lax USDA oversight.

The company responsible for the recall, Topps Meat Co., went bankrupt shortly after the recall was announced – which is just as well, considering their interpretation of “food safety”.  From the AP:

While the Topps Meat Co. churned out millions of frozen hamburgers a month, beef ground one day was often stored and "reworked" with meat from another production cycle, government documents show. A conveyor belt that moved raw patties to packaging was marred by "gouges, cracks and tears," inspectors said. They found residue on surfaces that fresh meat came into contact with.

Gross. If only inspectors from the USDA would have stopped these disgusting practices before 40 people were sickened…

Getting Away With Murder

The FDA has decided to allow a heartworm drug for dogs, which was been linked to over 500 canine deaths before its use was suspended four years ago, back on the market. The drug, Proheart 6, was developed by pharmaceutical giant Wyeth. The company had such cozy relationships with the FDA that in late 2004, when Proheart 6 was pulled, a smear campaign they orchestrated against FDA veterinarian and GAP client Victoria Hampshire, who discovered the link between the drug and the fatalities, forced her out of her job. Hampshire was eventually cleared of all wrongdoing of the bogus charges brought against her.

So what justification had the FDA used in deciding to re-release the drug? Good question…From Reuters:

Tests by Fort Dodge Animal Health, the Wyeth unit that makes Proheart 6, found residue from solvents used to make the drug could cause allergic reactions, the FDA said. A manufacturing change decreased the presence of residues, and allergic reactions dropped after the reformulated product went on sale in other countries, Wyeth said.

So we should just take Wyeth’s word for it, right? If that doesn't convince you, the Director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine gave the drug this vote of confidence:

"While we concur with the limited return of ProHeart 6 to the U.S. market, we strongly encourage veterinarians and pet owners to report any possible adverse reactions".

This quote doesn’t quite instill confidence that they’re sure about the drug, does it? To dog-owners out there – fair warning.