On Tuesday, Senator Charles Grassley asked the Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration to clarify the Agency’s position on the rights of employees to communicate with Congress and the Inspector General. Grassley was responding to a memo issued last week that warned FDA employees about releasing information.
In the letter, Grassley stated, ““Federal laws protect whistleblowers and allow people who work in the federal bureaucracy to discuss what’s happening inside an agency with other officials. Attempts to silence whistleblowers are illegal. If the memo sent last week was intended to have a chilling effect on FDA employees who want to speak up about problems, then that memo is contrary to the President’s call for open and transparent government, and the Acting Commissioner needs to set the record straight.”
We applaud Senator Grassley’s continued commitment to protecting federal employees and hope other Senators follow his lead. All federal employees, including FDA employees, need adequate whistleblower protection.
To read the Senator Grassley’s letter click here.