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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 30, 1978)
Civil service bill to be amended Carter administration says ‘whistle blowers’ to get protection WASHINGTON (AP) — The Carter administration, responding to congres sional criticism, has agreed to add more protection for “whistleblowers” to the president’s civil service bill, several offi cials say. Protection will be included for dissi dent employees who make allegations of non-criminal waste, mismanagement or impropriety, provided they do so con fidentially within the government. This will be added to the protection against firing, demotion or transfer which Pres. Carter proposed three months ago for civil servants who go to the news media or Congress to allege criminal acts or rule violations by their colleagues or bosses. One of the most noted whistleblowers of recent years was A. Earnest Fitz gerald, a Pentagon analyst who dis closed to a congressional committee a $2 billion cost overrun on the C-5A transport plane in the late 1960's. He was fired from his Air Force job, then ordered reinstated as a deputy for pro duction management after a seven-year legal battle which he said cost him $400,000. Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., said the treatment of Fitzgerald by the Air Force amounted to a cover-up of crimi nal behavior. The adtninistration also intends to push for passage of a bill to create strong inspector-general offices inside federal agencies to investigate the sub stance of complaints by whistleblowers and others. One version of the bill al ready has passed the House. The new investigative arms would be in addition to a special counsel pro ff BREAK GLASS m /n £as/zs or W^iRLOrV avus y/diATiQAjj * ca/tt/Mt AcTs'^fpr**'*' a>er /HiSHAHA£e/*e*iT- /MPKomieries^ ^ MASnz / AAJP/f* Drawing by Jim Payne posed to investigate personnel griev ances, including those by employees who say they are being punished for dis closing illegal activities. The White House is continuing to negotiate with congressional critics of the plan who want to give wider powers to the special counsel and to protect those who make allegations of non criminal improprieties to Congress and perhaps to the media. White House domestic policy aide Fred Lazarus III and three Senate aides who asked not to be named said agree ment might be reached this week which would avert a House fight over the whist leblower issue, one of the most con troversial aspects of the civil service plan. Senate aides are continuing to press for protection for those who make allega tions of non-criminal matters to the Con gress but seem ready to drop proposals to protect those to take such allegations to the public or the news media. Also apparently shelved are meas ures to allow the proposed special coun sel to investigate and overrule other fed eral agencies on the basis of whistle blower complaints. The Senate aides continue to object to a provision in Carter’s plan that would allow a president to lift whistleblower protection from any employee he deter mines part of the intelligence committee. And the White House remains op posed to granting iron-clad immunity against discipline for civil servants who campaign publicly against the policies of their superiors or who make public al legations about matters which they feel are improper but not necessarily illegal. College Students LEAVING FOR THE SUMMER? Art and text for this ad created by University students Ann Mori and Alan Yamamoto for Pacific Northwest Bell. (hey* dou't forget m\ 9 (f JF) BRING YOUR TELEPHONE TO US WE LL GIVE YOU A $5 CREDIT. THAT’S RIGHT, $5.00 If you're a telephone subscriber in your private residence living off campus, and are completely disconnecting your entire residence—it’s easy. Just unplug your sets (if your phones are not the plug-in type, just snip them two inches from the wall connection) and bring them to the EMU Main Lobby from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., June 8, 9 and 12, or to the Eugene PhoneCenter store open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., open late Friday, June 9 and Monday, June 12 through Friday, June 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. In Springfield, the PhoneCenter store is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Then, we’ll give you a $5 credit on your closing bill. So, on the way out don’t forget your telephones. You’ll be doing yourself a favor. Any questions? Call the PNB Business Office, 343-8601.
