Washington, D.C. – In recognition of Senator Chuck Grassley’s “Quarter Century as the Champion for Whistleblowers in the United States Senate,” twenty-five public interest groups – from across the political spectrum – joined together to present Senator Grassley with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors the Senator’s “leadership” in obtaining Congress’ approval of “landmark whistleblower protections in the False Claims Act, Civil Rights Tax Fairness Act, Whistleblower Protection Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”
The Award was presented by Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, the Army Corps Of Engineers’ Former Top Contracting Officer. View Mrs, Greenhouse’s statement.
The National Whistleblowers Center hosted the ceremony, as part of Whistleblower Week in Washington, on behalf of twenty-five public interest organizations, including: the American Library Association, Californians Aware, Doctors for Open Government, Ethics in Government Group, Georgians for Open Government, Government Accountability Project, Integrity International, Minnesota Coalition on Government Information, National Employment Lawyers Association, National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund, No FEAR Coalition, OMB Watch, Project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Semmelweis Society International, Taxpayers Against Fraud, The Health Integrity Project, The New Grady Coalition, The Liberty Coalition, The Student Health Integrity Project, Union of Concerned Scientists, VA Whistleblowers Coalition and Whistleblowers USA.
The President of the National Whistleblowers Center, Stephen M. Kohn, issued the following statement when announcing Senator Grassley’s selection for the award: “No other member of Congress has so consistently supported whistleblowers. For Senator Grassley, it never mattered if the President was a Democrat or Republican. It only mattered that the public safety was protected, that the taxpayers were not robbed and that government was responsive to its citizenry. His efforts have saved the taxpayers billions of dollars and have protected the careers of hundreds of honest employees who simply wanted to do their jobs and properly report misconduct.”
