Wednesday, October 19, 2011

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today said that legislation to strengthen and update the Whistleblower Protection Act unanimously passed the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

Grassley is one of the primary authors of the bill, known as the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act.  The bill was introduced on April 6.  The legislation is sponsored by Senator Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii and is cosponsored by Grassley along with Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Carl Levin of Michigan, Tom Carper of Delaware, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Ben Cardin of Maryland, and Chris Coons of Delaware.

"Whistleblowers come forward when it isn't easy.  They risk their livelihoods to bring the truth to light.  Yet, they are often vilified by their supervisors and coworkers for doing the right thing and revealing fraud, waste and abuse in the federal government," Grassley said.  "Moving the bill through committee is a step in the right direction, but further improvements, like adding timelines for the Attorney General to address FBI whistleblower retaliation cases, are necessary to make sure these cases don't languish at the Justice Department, as two have for more than 5 years."

The legislation would:

• 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 Federal Circuit Court of Appeals sole jurisdiction over federal employee whistleblower cases for five 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 that has been part of every Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill since 1988;
• allow jury trials under certain circumstances for a period of five years;
• provide the Merit System Protection Board with authority to consider and grant summary judgment motions in Whistleblower Protection Act cases for a period of 5 years;
• clarify that employees protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act may make protected classified disclosures to Congress using the same process as Intelligence Community employees;
• establish protections for the Intelligence Community modeled on existing whistleblower protections for FBI employees;
• establish a process within the executive branch for review if a security clearance is allegedly denied or revoked because of a protected whistleblower disclosure;
• 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.

A long-time advocate for whistleblowers, in addition to co-authoring the 1989 whistleblower law, Grassley sponsored changes made in 1986 to the President Lincoln-era federal False Claims Act to empower private sector whistleblowers.  Since the 1986 amendments were signed into law, the False Claims Act has brought back more than $27 billion to the federal treasury, and has deterred even more fraudulent activity. In 2009, in coordination with Senator Patrick Leahy, Grassley worked to pass legislation to shore up whistleblower protections in the False Claims Act that had been eroded by the courts after years of litigation by defense and healthcare contractors.

Grassley is also the author of legislation that would give whistleblower protections to employees in the legislative branch as provided already to employees of the executive branch of government. He recently won approval of an amendment that would give whistleblower protections to employees in the judicial branch.  The amendment was added to a bill considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Report ranks Iowa bridges among most "deficient" in the country 

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement after a report by the nonprofit group Transportation for America released today said Iowa has the third worst bridges in the United States in terms of their condition and upkeep:

"For four summers in college, I worked for the Poweshiek County Roads Department fixing roads and bridges.  Iowa's economy moves on its roads.  If they're crumbling, our ability to attract new jobs and new businesses to Iowa will crumble too.

"We can create jobs in the short-term and make a lasting boost to economic growth - not to mention keeping Iowans safe - by investing in new highways and proper maintenance of our bridges and roads.  We spent billions rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan - it's irresponsible not to make the same investment here at home."

The report says that nearly 22 percent of Iowa's bridges statewide are considered structurally "deficient."  The only states ranking below Iowa were Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

The full report can be found at the following link: http://t4america.org/

In an effort to focus attention on the unlocked potential of these students, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) and Fostering Media Connections (FMC) held a "National Conversation" on foster care and education, linking policymakers in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles with researchers in Chicago and teachers and former foster youth in Sacramento via webcast. The conversation during this unprecedented nationwide event mirrored the themes detailed in "Rescuing Forgotten Futures," an Action Guide released by CCAI and FMC today, which outlines how everyone from citizens to policymakers can help improve educational outcomes for foster youth.

"Every foster youth deserves a high quality education with an academic mentor and the opportunity to stay in his or her school of origin. With the Senate education committee rewriting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act this week, it is important that they include provisions that ensure school stability for foster youth," said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who joined the "National Conversation."  "I have long fought for the right of children in foster care to get the quality education every child deserves, and I will continue to advocate for them to receive the support and guidance they need to have a chance to succeed in the future."

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who co-chairs the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth alongside Sen. Landrieu, pointed to the importance of the "National Conversation" in finding answers to the challenges students face in foster care.

"A major issue for young people in foster care is how difficult the system makes it to stay in the same school.  A child might get a new foster placement that's only a few miles away from where he's been but have to switch schools because of school district rules.  Finding a way to avoid this upheaval needs to be a policy goal at every level of government.  Discussions like this one can help encourage the debate and bring about a meaningful response," Sen. Grassley said.  "School life offers valuable opportunities for kids to make healthy, lasting connections, and young people in foster care would benefit tremendously from the chance to do so, especially given the challenging and even painful uncertainty so many of them face elsewhere in their lives."

For 26-year-old Derrick Riggins, who grew up in foster care and now works on Capitol Hill after working as a CCAI Foster Youth intern, this was especially true.

"Education is one of the most important tools we can provide for children in foster care," Riggins said. "It is a tool that can be used to open many doors and provide a way out of the child welfare system cycle."

Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, George Sheldon, pointed to the need for strong inter-agency collaboration between education and child welfare administrations to unlock the very doors Riggins referred to.

"We recognize how critically important educational stability is for kids in foster care, whose lives are already full of disruption, " Sheldon said.  "We also know that the child welfare system alone can't guarantee their educational success.  That's why we are working closely and intensely with our partners at the Department of Education to facilitate the right connections between key state and local agencies to make sure these kids get the consistent and high quality education they deserve."

Cheryl Smithgall, a Research Fellow with Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, one of the nation's top institutions in research around children's issues, joined the "National Conversation," and made clear that improvement in education is directly linked to educational agencies' ability to focus attention on vulnerable students.

"To the extent that policymakers are interested in the underperformance of schools, they need to be interested in vulnerable children," Smithgall said. "Research shows that early developmental and educational experiences are critical to later educational success.  As we contemplate child welfare and education policies and attempt to foster greater collaboration between the two systems, we need to think about how best to expose vulnerable children and their parents to high-quality developmental and educational supports as early in their lives as possible, and how to keep those supports in place when transitions occur in their lives."

Indeed, an amendment addressing the educational needs of students in foster care is expected to be included in Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee's deliberations, indicating that this sensitivity to vulnerable children will help drive the priorities of the national education debate: the potential in these young people is an undeniable American resource.

The fact is that every day that we allow the educational needs of our foster youth to go unaddressed, is another day of lost potential for our country," said Kathleen Strottman, executive director of CCAI. "My experience with these youth makes me confident that they are our future doctors, lawyers, business entrepreneurs, and political leaders.  Their voice in today's conversation is but one example of how ready they are to lead us into the future."

The "National Conversation" also featured Rep. Karen Bass, a former Sacramento teacher who is dedicated to improving the lives of foster youth; Jetaine Hart, a former foster youth and educational mentor for students in foster care; and Derrick Riggins, Madison Sandoval-Lunn, and Christina Miranda who are CCAI Foster Youth Interns. The event was webcast from Consumnes River College in Sacramento, home to the Enriched Scholars Program which is helping dozens of foster youth succeed in community college. Advocates hosted viewing gatherings across the country including Washington, West Virginia and Massachusetts.

For Ruby Slipper owner Christine Reyhons, opening the boutique combines two of her passions: women's footwear with downtown Davenport's vintage architecture. Her new venture brings together upscale footwear, clothing and accessories that are unique to the region.

"The concept is luxury casual," says Reyhons of her boutique located at 312 Main Street. "It's casual wear for weekends and evenings, not something you'd wear to a business."

Reyhons believes the store fits a niche in the region that isn't being addressed. "I felt Quad-Cities women's needs weren't being met, and there aren't a lot of choices," she said. "Enough of traveling to Chicago to shop...I wanted to keep it downtown."

Whenever possible, Reyhons selects American-made products for The Ruby Slipper. "I particularly tried to go with Midwestern artists with our jewelry." Some of the brands of footwear the store will carry include Frye, Aquatalia and Miz Mooz. Designer denim clothing lines includes DL 1961 and Joe's. Most of the shop's items range in price from $100 to $500.

Reyhons intimately understands the women's footwear business from years working as a shoe buyer for Von Maur department stores and in sales for the Frye Company, a footwear manufacturer. She travelled coast to coast, selling footwear to some of the country's largest and most exclusive department stores.

The boutique's four-person staff plans to offer personalized shoe parties and a customer rewards program.

"I have a passion for downtown Davenport and its architecture," says Reyhons. She notes the resurgent interest in the downtown's renovated loft condominiums, apartments and Hotel Blackhawk is generating a new energy downtown. She predicts that other businesses will follow suit as they see the possibilities of downtown.

The Ruby Slipper opens Thursday, October 20, with a grand opening event on Saturday, October 22 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Store hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

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