FAA Whistleblower Office Proposed in House Bill

[dhc2widow]

FAA whistleblower office proposed in House bill
By REBECCA NEAL
February 10, 2009


A House bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration calls for the creation of a whistleblower office to encourage reports of unsafe practices.

The four-year reauthorization bill (http://transportation.house.gov/Media/File/Aviation/FAA_Reauthorization_09/HR%20915.pdf), introduced Monday, would create an independent Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office within FAA. The office would receive safety complaints and information from FAA and private-sector employees, investigate the complaints and recommend action to FAA.


In 2008, two FAA employee whistleblowers who reported maintenance problems at Southwest Airlines told the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that supervisors ignored their complaints for years and that their jobs were threatened.

HR 915, the 2009 FAA Reauthorization Act, requires FAA to clarify to airlinesthat the agency’s customers are airline passengers, not the airlines or related companies. And FAA must notify airlines and other companies it regulates that they do not have the right to choose which FAA employees will conduct their inspections, sometimes a problem in the past.


In addition, the bill requires FAA inspectors who leave the agency take a two-year “cooling off” period before returning to lobby or represent companies they used to inspect.

The bill would authorize about $70 billion for fiscal 2009 through 2012, including:

• $38.9 billion for FAA operations.
• $16.2 billion for the airport improvement program.
• $13.4 billion for FAA facilities and equipment.
• $1.3 billion for research, engineering and development.

The bill includes funding to speed up implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, a system to modernize air traffic control and relieve congestion in the skies.

FAA’s authorization was scheduled to expire in September 2007, but a series of extensions kept the agency running. The current extension expires at the end of March.

HR 915 is virtually identical to a previous version of the bill, HR 2881, introduced in 2007. That bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said in a statement that he’s hopeful the bill will pass.
“We have a new president and a new Congress,” he said. “This time we’ll get the job done.”

The bill is sponsored by Oberstar and Jerry Costello, D-Ill., chairman of the subcommittee on aviation.

The subcommittee will hold a hearing on the bill Wednesday.
FAA whistleblower office proposed in House bill - Federal news, government operations, agency management, pay & benefits - FederalTimes.com (http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3941981)

[Checkboard]

You don't have a confidential aviation safety reporting scheme in the US?

[Ancient Observer]

One of the problems that the FAA have is their lack of role clarity. They are there to be a positive force for safety, but they also have a duty to "promote" US airlines. Thus, their role in whistleblowing can get caught up in politics. The UK arrangement seems cleaner, with the UK's CAA not having a role to promote anyone. (Other than their own Finances - their doc.s do not come cheap). Thus, a whistleblower telling the CAA about, say, interesting practices at, for instance, RR, does have his/her allegation fully investigated and there are no politicians in the loop.

[dhc2widow]

The Canadian "confidential reporting system" is similar to what has been described by Ancient Observer.

Unlike the US, however, Canada has pending Amendments to the Aeronautics Act which will make SMS a regulatory requirement ... and there are NO PLANS to adopt "real" whistleblower protections. Justice Virgil Moshansky is one amongst many who has decried this plan of action.

[dhc2widow]

February 25, 2009
Letter to President Barack Obama and DOT Secretary Ray LaHood
President Barack Obama
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Secretary Ray LaHood
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave SE
Washington, DC 20590

Re: Newly-Formed “FAA Whistleblower Alliance” Encourages Flight Safety, Whistleblower Reforms


Dear President Obama and Secretary LaHood,

As current and former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, with over 200 years of collective experience in the federal government, and on behalf of our colleagues throughout the FAA community, we congratulate you on efforts you have taken already to start the country moving again in the right direction. We are a newly-formed organization of committed FAA professionals, the “FAA Whistleblower Alliance.” In this capacity, we write to offer our support to work with you to help build confidence in civil aviation at a time when the FAA is desperately in need of attention and repair.

A successful economic recovery will depend in part on a viable civil aviation system that promotes confidence in its ability to safely transport passengers throughout the country and the world. Unfortunately, as explained in our letter below, the FAA you have inherited is a long way from being capable of meeting this goal. We urge you to act without delay in exercising the leadership necessary to direct the agency toward a restoration of its core mission: protecting the flying public.

For too long, the agency has shifted its focus away from this critical mission, instead implementing programs and priorities to protect the interests of the regulated airlines and the pocketbooks of their shareholders. As you know, in April 2008, the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, led by Chairman James Oberstar, held hearings on critical safety lapses by Southwest Airlines, the FAA’s related complacency and failure to regulate, and the efforts agency management took to retaliate against the courageous FAA inspectors who reported these problems. The hearing’s findings were not an aberration.

Each of us has challenged the agency for engaging in similar abuses, and there are many more like us who have done the same. We have committed our professional lives, in many cases over the course of the last 25 years or more, to working to ensure aviation safety. But, for attempting to perform the jobs we were assigned, we have been retaliated against by agency managers intent on protecting the status quo, their own jobs, or opportunities for future employment in industry. They placed these interests above those of the flying public. The infrastructure and professionalism of the FAA has decayed as a result.

Collectively and individually, we are committed to help in any way possible to bring about the changes necessary to enhance safety and make it the FAA’s top priority. Each and every member of our group initially came forward putting safety ahead of self interest. A small reward for our efforts would be to participate in being part of the solution, which was our goal for coming forward in the first place.

As FAA “whistleblowers,” the collective list of public safety disclosures we have made is daunting, covering all areas of FAA operations, from flight standards, to air traffic control, to security, to inspections. We have attached a “fact sheet” to this letter with brief summaries of our air safety concerns and disclosures.

The repercussions for our actions have been equally stunning. We have been terminated, investigated, slandered, ostracized, involuntarily transferred, threatened, harassed, and discriminated against for blowing the whistle. The consequences have generally meant the end, or a “dead-ending,” of promising careers within the federal government. In many of our cases, the retaliation has led to great suffering in our personal lives as well.

We are not writing to complain, or out of self-interest, but out of a sense of obligation to let you know of the challenges ahead. Our experiences have been a chilling example to the rest of the agency’s employees as to what happens when you speak out to challenge safety violations, rampant cronyism and corruption, security lapses, and excessive “coziness” between the FAA and the airlines. This has created a culture of repression within the FAA; because of the retaliation we have suffered, employees who witness wrongdoing will think twice before speaking out.

Many of us have active reprisal cases pending with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which took an interest in FAA retaliation cases at the time of the Oberstar hearings. Unfortunately, the OSC, without any legal authority for its decision, recently put forth an interpretation of the whistleblower law that leaves us without any effective protection from that office. The OSC unilaterally determined that employees are not protected for disclosures of waste, fraud, abuse or illegality that are in any way connected to the employee’s job duties. In other words, as safety inspectors and air traffic controllers, we are not protected for blowing the whistle about threats to the public safety, even to third parties such as the National Transportation Safety Board, when it conducts investigations to prevent recurrences of air tragedies. We can be fired for acting as conscientious public servants, rather than silent bureaucrats who “don’t make waves.”

We are working closely with the Government Accountability Project (GAP), http://www.whistleblower.org (http://www.whistleblower.org/), on building support for immediate passage of amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA). As GAP has documented, and we have lived through, the degradation of the WPA has left many of us without any viable rights to challenge unlawful retaliation. We greatly appreciate your support for this legislation as a member of the Senate and as a presidential candidate, and we encourage you to immediately signal your continued support as President. After the OSC’s recent decision, we need this change now more than ever.

We also encourage you to act quickly in appointing a new Special Counsel to head the OSC, and to provide him or her with a mandate to expeditiously complete the Office’s review of our cases, to seek accountability for any managers found to have retaliated against agency whistleblowers, and to conduct genuine training for management on their responsibilities under the whistleblower law. Beyond restoring employee rights, it is imperative that every FAA manager, from the Administrator’s office to the field facilities, is absolutely certain that illegal or inappropriate behaviors will be identified and dealt with in a timely and appropriate fashion without regard for title, position, seniority or the amount of embarrassment it could bring to the agency. Restoring the professionalism and integrity of the FAA starts with these actions.

In addition, our alliance supports legislation from the 110th Congress, H.R. 6493, the “Aviation Safety Enhancement Safety Act of 2008,” which was unanimously passed by the House on July 22, 2008. This bill contains several provisions to address ongoing problems in the FAA. The single most important of these is the establishment of an independent “Aviation Safety Whistleblower Investigation Office.” Major safety deficiencies have been addressed because they were brought to light by conscientious FAA whistleblowers, not by the current FAA safety programs. This office would give voice to those who are in the best position to suggest remedies for FAA safety problems. If the amendments to the WPA are also passed, whistleblowers would be in a position to come forward without recrimination and fear of losing their jobs. Importantly, they would also be able to address serious safety issues without having to go outside the FAA, which would benefit the employees and the agency alike.

We thank you for considering our views, and repeat our offer to work with you in the days ahead. Please contact Gabe Bruno at 407-977-1505 and/or Tom Devine of the Government Accountability Project at 202-457-0034, ext. 124 with any follow-up communications.



Sincerely,∗



Raymond Adams, active Air Traffic Controller,
19 years of federal service

Gabriel Bruno, retired Manager, Flight Standards Service,
30 years of federal service

Ricky Chitwood, active Flight Standards, Air Carrier Operations Inspector,
8 years of federal service

Mike Cole, active Air Traffic Controller,
27 years of federal service with the FAA

Bogdan Dzakovic, former Special Agent/Air Marshal Service, currently with TSA,
28 years of federal service

Kim Farrington, former Flight Standards, Air Carrier Cabin Safety Inspector,
7 years of federal service

Cheryl Henderson, active Flight Standards, Air Carrier Avionics Inspector,
23 years of federal service

Melissa Ott, Cleveland Center Facility Representative,
18 years of federal service

Peter Nesbitt, active Air Traffic Controller,
24 years of federal service

Geoffrey Weiss, active Air Traffic Controller,
20 years of federal service

Anne Whiteman, active Air Traffic Control Manager,
31 years of federal service

Cc: Chairman James Oberstar, House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure

∗ Some of our members wish to keep their names confidential, due to fear of continued retaliation.

[Any listed affiliation with the FAA or any other federal agency is listed only for identification purposes. We are speaking in our capacity as citizens and as part of the FAA Whistleblower Alliance, and not on behalf of the FAA or any other federal agency.]


http://faa-whistleblower.*************/2009/02/letter-to-president-barack-obama-and.html

[Chuck Ellsworth]

We are not writing to complain, or out of self-interest, but out of a sense of obligation to let you know of the challenges ahead. Our experiences have been a chilling example to the rest of the agency’s employees as to what happens when you speak out to challenge safety violations, rampant cronyism and corruption, security lapses, and excessive “coziness” between the FAA and the airlines. This has created a culture of repression within the FAA; because of the retaliation we have suffered, employees who witness wrongdoing will think twice before speaking out.

Chronyism, corruption and " coziness " with air service operators is not unique to the FAA.

Canada could give the FAA lessons in these areas.

Maybe every government on earth has these problems?

[Ditchdigger]

One of the problems that the FAA have is their lack of role clarity. They are there to be a positive force for safety, but they also have a duty to "promote" US airlines.

Not anymore they don't. From the agency's own history of itself ( http://www.faa.gov/about/media/b-chron.pdf (http://www.faa.gov/about/media/b-chron.pdf) ):


On Oct 9, the President signed the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-264) , ...

.... To address public perceptions about FAA’s "dual mission," the law specified safety as the agency’s highest priority. FAA remained responsible for encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, but references to a promotional role were eliminated from its mandate.


It's understandable that you are misinformed. It remains a common misconception. The FAA hasn't quite gotten the message themselves...