WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAU) — The U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing Tuesday, taking testimony about how federal government employees retaliate against whistleblowers, as happened at the Tomah VA Medical Center.
Committee Chairman Senator Ron Johnson made it clear he was not happy with the rampant retaliation within the federal government, and especially if the Office of the Inspector General does nothing about it. “I care deeply about the intimidation, the retaliation, the reprisal coming from the Office of Inspector General, so listen, I appreciate the testimony. I appreciate the assurances that whistleblowers are a vital part, and the OIG values whistleblowers and that reprisals are unacceptable, but that’s not the record.”
Sean Kirkpatrick, brother of Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick, a psychologist who committed suicide after he was fired from the Tomah VA Medical Center in 2009, was among those testifying. Brandon Coleman, Joseph Colon and Shea Wilkes also testified. All of them were whistleblowers who faced retaliation at different VA medical centers. They described being shunned, isolated, defamed, alone and desperate as a result of blatant retaliation by upper-level management.
Several officials testified the Veterans Administration has problems, and takes too long to hold people accountable. Witnesses often told the committee that VA staff view the Office of Inspector General as a joke.
Carolyn Lerner is a special counsel for the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which handles retaliation cases across the government. She testified that 35 to 40 percent of her office’s entire retaliation case load comes from the VA alone.
Both of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senators participated in the hearing. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson both expressed a need to fix this problem and hold people accountable.
