WHISTLEBLOWERS who expose wrongdoing by the US government will have much to cheer about when a bill protecting them from retribution is made law in the coming weeks – unless they happen to be scientists.
Last year, the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act sailed through the House of Representatives and the Senate. Now lawmakers must meet to determine the final wording of the bill before it is signed into law. This should be a formality, but there’s a snag. The House version included a clause specifically protecting scientists who expose government abuse of scientific information. The Senate bill did not.
In recent…
