FederalDaily - April 25, 2007

Groups Call for Commerce to Suspend ‘Free Speech’ Policy

A new Commerce Department (DoC) policy that was supposed to preserve employees’ free speech rights does exactly the opposite and should be repealed, said two advocacy groups. In an April 23 letter to DoC Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said the new policy, promoted by DoC as a way to ease employee communications with the media—particularly on scientific research—falls far short. The new rules seem to contradict rights guaranteed under the federal Whistleblower Protection Act, the groups said. Even when expressing personal views as private citizens, DoC employees will have to submit their message for prior review and approval, the groups said. “The bottom line is simple. Government scientists must ask for permission to say virtually anything relevant to their professional expertise to anybody,” said GAP Legal Director Tom Devine. “The new rule is: First ask, then talk.” To see more, go to: www.whistleblower.org/content/press_detail.cfm?press_id=949&keyword 

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Union Renews Criticism of FDA Plans to Close Labs, Reorganize

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) again took aim again at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is moving ahead with a plan to consolidate 13 regional laboratories and close as many as half of them, in spite of congressional opposition. The union criticized FDA’s ongoing intention to close seven of 13 labs within its Office of Regional Affairs, as well as its plans to restructure field operations. According to NTEU President Colleen Kelley, “the FDA has yet to explain to Congress, or the American people, how it is serving the public interest by shutting down more than half of its labs at a time when we are experiencing life-threatening food outbreaks.” That criticism came as the Oversight and Investigative subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce met on April 24 to discuss ways FDA can improve efforts to combat food-borne illness. Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., has requested the agency hold off on its plans pending a review by the Energy and Commerce Committee. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org

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Naval Research Lab Worker Sentenced in Bribery Scheme

A former material controller for the Supply Department of the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., was sentenced on April 20 to 30 months in prison for his role in a bribery scheme at the facility, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. According to the office, the former employee, John A. Hancock, received bribes from vendors in exchange for directing procurements to companies they owned or controlled. For his part in the scheme, which the office said ran from the mid-1990s until about 2005, Hancock received approximately $107,000 in bribes. The scheme resulted in an overall loss to the lab of approximately $215,000, the office said. In addition to his sentence, Hancock was ordered to repay the full amount in restitution, according to the government. The investigation was conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the FBI. For more, go to: www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae/Pressreleases/04-AprilPDFArchive/07/20070420hancocknr.pdf.

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