Grassley said that whistleblowers are being denied the protections they should have under the law because of decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and a general anti-whistleblower sentiment found in executive branch agencies.

Grassley co-authored the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act with Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.  The law provides protection for federal employees who expose waste, fraud and abuse in federal agencies.  Grassley introduced the update, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, with Senators Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

"This much needed update helps whistleblowers who risk their careers by sticking their necks out to simply tell the truth.  The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act is an important step forward, but improvements are still needed to ensure that intelligence community whistleblowers receive the protection they deserve for uncovering fraud deep within the bureaucracy," Grassley said.

A long-time advocate for whistleblowers, Grassley has stood up against the heavy hand of the bureaucracy - regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats were in charge -- for individual whistleblowers from the Pentagon, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the IRS, the Interior Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition to co-authoring the 1989 whistleblower law, Grassley also authored the 1986 update of the False Claims Act to include qui tam provisions that empower private citizens, who had information about fraudulent activity by government contractors, to bring wrongdoing forward and sue in the name of the government.  To date, these whistleblower provisions have recovered more than $30 billion for taxpayers that otherwise would be lost to fraud.

In 2009, Grassley and Senator Patrick Leahy won passage of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which made the most significant improvements to the False Claims Act since 1986.  The law restores the scope and applicability of the False Claims Act where it had been limited by court decisions.  This effort also revised criminal laws to help prosecute mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and complex financial crimes that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

In addition, Grassley authored the 2006 overhaul of the IRS whistleblower program to fight major tax fraud.  The IRS recently paid out its largest award ever, but has acknowledged, after scrutiny from Grassley, that the agency must be more timely and responsive in processing whistleblower claims.

Once signed into law, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 will:

·         clarify that any disclosure of gross waste or mismanagement, fraud, abuse, or illegal activity may be protected, but not disagreements over legitimate policy decisions;

·         suspend the sole jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals over federal employee whistleblower cases for two years;

·         extend Whistleblower Protection Act coverage and other non-discrimination and anti-retaliatory laws to all employees of the Transportation Security Administration;

·         clarify that whistleblowers may disclose evidence of censorship of scientific or technical information under the same standards that apply to disclosures of other kinds of waste, fraud, and abuse;

·         codify the anti-gag provision, which Grassley originally got passed, that has been part of every Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill since 1988;

·         establish Whistleblower Protection Ombudsmen to educate agency personnel about whistleblower rights; and

·         provide the Office of Special Counsel with the independent right to file "friend of the court" briefs, or amicus briefs, with federal courts.

-30-

Working for Iowa puts Grassley on list with 23 others in Senate history

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley has cast his 11,000 Senate vote.  Only 23 senators in history have cast more votes than Grassley.

In addition, no senator serving today has gone as long as Grassley has without missing a vote.  Grassley has cast 6,473 consecutive votes.

"Not missing votes is a way to demonstrate respect for the public trust I hold in representing Iowans and to do the job I'm elected to do," Grassley said.  "When the Senate's in session, I'm in Washington voting, and when the Senate is out of session, I'm in Iowa holding meetings with constituents."

Click here for comments made this afternoon by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.  Grassley's 11,000th vote was last evening.

Since Grassley was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, he has held at least one official meeting in every one of Iowa's 99 counties every year.  He calls the process of representative government a two-way street.  "I have a responsibility to go to Iowans to ask for their views and answer their questions, and they have a responsibility to let me know what they think.  I want to foster that process, and going to every county every year is a way to do so."

In the Senate, Grassley is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.  He is a senior member and former Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance.  He serves on the Agriculture and Budget committees and co-chairs the Caucus on International Narcotics Control.

Grassley is committed to congressional oversight of the executive branch of government.  His efforts have been recognized by whistleblower advocacy and government reform groups and journalist organizations for protecting press freedom and the First Amendment.  He fights for transparency in government and wherever tax dollars flow.

Grassley's legislative record of achievement includes expansive tax relief and reform, approval of international trade agreements, renewable energy and conservation incentives, farm program reforms, rural health care fairness, Medicare modernization, adoption and foster care incentives, access to health care for children with disabilities, updates to patent and trademark laws, expanded consumer access to generic drugs, measures to fight fraud against taxpayers, whistleblower protections, pension program reforms, bankruptcy reform, and making certain that members of Congress live under civil rights, labor and health care laws passed for the rest of the country.

Grassley is the eighth most senior member of the U.S. Senate and the fourth most senior Republican senator.

Other senators currently serving who have cast more than 11,000 votes are Senators Max Baucus of Montana, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Carl Levin of Michigan, and Richard Lugar of Indiana.

Since 1789, there have been nearly 2,000 members of the U.S. Senate.  The last vote Grassley missed was in July 1993, when he accompanied President Bill Clinton to Iowa to inspect flood damage.

PALATINE - Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will challenge Harper College students on Thursday to sign an online pledge not to text and drive. Simon, the governor's point person on education reform, is visiting community colleges across the state this fall to urge commuter students to practice safe texting.

AT&T's "It Can Wait" campaign aims to educate drivers on the dangers of texting while driving. Nationwide, drivers are 23 times more likely to get in an accident if they text while driving. In the first half of 2011 in Illinois, cell phone distractions were the cause of more than 500 crashes. Simon took the "It Can Wait" pledge in September.

"Texting is one of the leading causes of distracted driving, an epidemic that causes far too many accidents and deaths on our roadways," Simon said. "There is no text message important enough to risk your life - it can wait."